Marks and Spencer has introduced ultraviolet invisible labels in some bottles of milk to track them through the recycling system.
The supermarket is the first to implement packaging labels, developed by the Polytag recycling technology firm, in stores.
They have been printed on the labels of milk bottles of four M&S pints now available in national stores, with the aim of increasing recycling rates.
Once recycled by households, the bottles will be scanned by polytag plastic detection units if the recycling installation has adapted with technology.
Then, M&S will be able to see live recycling data, accessing the knowledge of real -time barcode level about the recycling of its single -use plastic packaging.
Polytag said that the data is designed to precisely track the sustainability objectives, improve the accuracy of recycling claims and strengthen compliance with regulations that require companies to pay the management and recycling of packaging of packaging their products.
The hope is also that the labels can help reduce M&S costs under these rules of responsibility of the extended producer (EPR) through more precise reports.
M&S has also invested £ 100,000 in the Polytag Ecotrace program, whose objective is to boost the implementation of an invisible UV label readers network throughout the country.
CO-OP, Waitrose and Aldi have also been working with Polytag to introduce UV labels into their products.
Alice Rackley, Executive Director of Polytag, said: “Retailers and brands can no longer allow to lose sight of the packaging at the time it leaves its supply chain.
“With EPR now in force, we are entering a new era in which the real data is not only useful, it is essential.
“When labeling products and tracking your trip through the recycling system, we are creating a clear line of vision from the shelf to the classification installation.
“M & s taking this first step on the shelf indicates not only a commitment to transparency, but a real change in the way in which the industry addresses responsibility.
“It is an important milestone for the Ecotrace program and for the broader recycling industry in the United Kingdom.”
Mark Hitschmann, head of packaging at M&S Food, said: “We hope to get more data and an idea of what is happening with our packaging in the real world through our work with Polytag.
“Our clients constantly tell us that reducing plastic is very important for them, so this is another way they can trust that M&S is doing the right thing to help them make more sustainable decisions when they buy with us.”
