• This certification determines the percentage of real recyclability of the packaging through an analysis of the characteristics of the product and the technologies applied in the waste recovery plants.
• Different companies in the cluster have been able to benefit from the information obtained during the evaluation process to improve their products and motivate a more sustainable model within the value chain of the packaging sector, such as IP Triana

The packaging certification project is a commitment of the Packaging Cluster to analyze one of the products manufactured by different companies associated with the entity, with the aim of knowing the recyclability of these packaging in the current waste management system, through the Recyclability Certification. The companies participating in the project have obtained, after the analysis, information of great value about their product, which they could not otherwise have obtained, with which to improve the properties of the packaging to create a protective element that is sustainable and of high quality. 

But how is the degree of recyclability of packaging analyzed? Well, for about two months, the environmental consulting firm Driade Soluciones Medioambientales, together with the Gremi de Recuperació, study and carry out real tests of the entire process that a package follows, from when the contained product is consumed until it is recovered again in the form of secondary raw material, with the scientific review of the Cátedra UNESCO de Ciclo de Vida y Cambio  Climático ESCI-UPF and the audit of the SGS certifier.

The evaluation process analyzes the classification and recycling flow of a specific packaging, taking into account each point of the recycling line, according to the technologies available in current recovery plants and the materials used. The main objective of this certification, as stated by Raquel Iglesias Iglesias, General Director of DriadeSM, is to: “improve the real recyclability of packaging and that companies and consumers know what is happening in the market”.

Once the entire study has been carried out to find out what is done well and what is wrong, the group of evaluators determines the percentage of recyclability of the product by issuing a certificate and an eco-label that can be voluntarily inserted on the packaging. This percentage is obtained after an arduous, rigorous and independent audit process, which is governed by continuous reviews and improvements to optimize the results of the study.

After knowing the value proposition of the Recyclability Certification in more than 20 different certificates, the Packaging Cluster decided in 2020 to carry out a pilot test of the certification in companies of the entity such as IP Triana, using the financing received through ACCIÓ grants to Iniciatives de  Reforç de la Competitivitat 2020.

Thanks to the certificate, the cluster companies have been able to channel the information into the creation of a new packaging that meets the current requirements at European level, taking as a reference the original product studied and without losing properties.