{"id":70623,"date":"2026-08-11T18:05:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T18:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/70623\/"},"modified":"2026-08-11T18:05:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T18:05:12","slug":"aldi-and-arla-foods-pilot-smart-uv-tagging-packaging-to-track-milk-bottle-recycling-with-polytag-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/70623\/","title":{"rendered":"Aldi and Arla Foods Pilot Smart UV Tagging Packaging to Track Milk Bottle Recycling with Polytag"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"widgetopts1064881018 extendedwopts-col col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-xs-12 wp-block-paragraph\">Aldi and Arla Foods UK are launching an eight-week packaging traceability trial using Polytag\u2019s ultraviolet (UV) tagging technology to track milk bottles through the recycling system and generate data to support packaging sustainability decisions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"widgetopts206692400 extendedwopts-col col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-xs-12 wp-block-paragraph\">UK supermarket Aldi and dairy cooperative Arla are working with recycling platform Polytag on a pilot designed to provide greater visibility of the lifecycle of milk bottle packaging.<\/p>\n<p class=\"widgetopts1079064116 extendedwopts-col col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-xs-12 wp-block-paragraph\">Building on a collaboration from 2023, the latest project uses UV-tagged wrap-around labels applied to Arla\u2019s milk bottle range at its Oakthorpe site.<\/p>\n<p class=\"widgetopts239963838 extendedwopts-col col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-xs-12 wp-block-paragraph\">The labels are printed by Saica Flex using specially developed RecyClass-approved ink from Sun Chemical. They will allow packaging to be tracked as it moves through the recycling stream, generating data on recycling rates and the journey taken by individual items.<\/p>\n<p class=\"widgetopts1741344930 extendedwopts-col col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-xs-12 wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/luke-emery-4a721b28a\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Luke Emery, Plastics and Packaging Director, Aldi UK<\/a>, said: \u201cThis next phase with Polytag represents an exciting step forward in how we use data to drive our sustainability strategy. By integrating this advanced traceability technology into our packaging, we can gain deeper insights into the lifecycle of our materials.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"widgetopts216926986 extendedwopts-col col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-xs-12 wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/helena-delgado-nordmann-7440a8a5\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Helena Delgado Nordmann, head of sustainability at Arla Foods UK<\/a>, shared: \u201cAs Europe\u2019s largest dairy cooperative, Arla is committed to understanding how our packaging performs beyond point of sale. By working with Polytag, we hope to gain valuable insight into how milk bottle packaging moves through the recycling system, helping us to make moreinformed decisions about future packaging developments and supporting our ongoing efforts to improve packaging circularity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"widgetopts1477162323 extendedwopts-col col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-xs-12 wp-block-paragraph\">Invisible UV tags are printed directly onto packaging labels using food-safe fluorescent ink that has undergone safety and recycling testing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"widgetopts207960037 extendedwopts-col col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-xs-12 wp-block-paragraph\">The ink can be applied using standard printing methods without affecting production speed. Unlike the companies\u2019 2023 trial, which used pressure-sensitive labels, the latest pilot uses wrap-around labels to provide greater durability and coverage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"widgetopts495891595 extendedwopts-col col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-xs-12 wp-block-paragraph\">When packaging carrying the tags enters the recycling stream, Polytag\u2019s Plastic Detection Units at Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) capture barcode-level data in real time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"widgetopts1916070658 extendedwopts-col col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-xs-12 wp-block-paragraph\">Brands and retailers can access the information through Polytag\u2019s dashboard, providing visibility of packaging as it moves through the recycling process.<\/p>\n<p class=\"widgetopts1635055622 extendedwopts-col col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-xs-12 wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/alicerackley\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Alice Rackley, CEO, Polytag<\/a>, said: \u201cThis next phase deployment with Aldi and Arla milk bottle labels demonstrates the scalability and reliability of the UV-tagging solution. This represents continued progress in packaging design, offering brands a seamless, cost-effective path to comprehensive recycling insights.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"widgetopts1782726496 extendedwopts-col col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-xs-12 wp-block-paragraph\">The trial is intended to provide Aldi and Arla with real-world packaging lifecycle data that can support future sustainability and packaging decisions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"widgetopts1095599964 extendedwopts-col col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-xs-12 wp-block-paragraph\">According to Polytag, data captured through UV tagging can help brands measure progress against sustainability targets and support data-informed decisions that may identify opportunities to improve recyclability and recycling performance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"widgetopts1009624582 extendedwopts-col col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-xs-12 wp-block-paragraph\">Polytag recently achieved a 100 per cent detection rate with packaging compliance organisation Citeo at a Materials Recovery Facility in France.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Aldi and Arla Foods UK are launching an eight-week packaging traceability trial using Polytag\u2019s ultraviolet (UV) tagging technology&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":70624,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21128],"tags":[21143,23213,21144],"class_list":["post-70623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-aldi","tag-aldi","tag-insights","tag-sud-nord"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70623\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}