Ocado Retail has announced it is extending its packaging traceability partnership with Polytag across its full in-house milk range.
Polytag says Ocado Retail is the ‘first’ UK grocer to scale packaging traceability through its partnership and marks a ‘foundational step’ in enabling circularity at scale.
In partnership with Polytag, a UK company that specialises in connected packaging and recycling technology, Ocado Retail has begun applying UV watermarks to Ocado Retail’s milk range.
The UV tags are invisible to customers but readable at Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) and supply Ocado Retail with item-level data on where and when packaging is recycled.
Polytag says these ‘tags’ will enable real-time, barcode-level insights into where, when, and how much of Ocado Retail’s packaging is being recycled, which will give them a level of visibility that has never been available at the same scale.
Alice Rackley, CEO of Polytag, commented: “This is the beginning of an industry-wide shift towards a more transparent recycling system.
“Ocado Retail’s scale and pace in rolling out this technology has established a template for the whole industry, and proves what’s possible, and necessary, as we enter a new era of accountability for FMCG brands.
“The data now exists. The infrastructure is in place. Ocado Retail is showing the industry how to use it.”
This is the beginning of an industry-wide shift towards a more transparent recycling system.
More than 100 Ocado Retail own-label products now feature Polytag QR codes that provide consumers with recycling instructions and sustainability information.
The move builds on Ocado Retail’s position as a founding partner of Polytag’s Ecotrace Programme.
Through the programme, Polytag has installed a network of Plastic Detection Units (PDUs) in high-volume Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) across the UK and Northern Ireland.
Polytag says these units are now capable of monitoring nearly 50% of the UK’s household recycling stream, detecting UV-tagged items automatically and sharing live, verified data via its dashboard.
Data on the product type and location will provide a new level of traceability that can support real-time optimisation of recycling strategies, Polytag says.
Laura Fernandez, Senior Sustainability Manager at Ocado Retail, said: “The technology allows us to truly understand the full lifecycle of our packaging, and make meaningful decisions based on that data.
“Being able to track our products through the recycling system is a significant milestone as we pave the way toward more sustainable practices.”