The latest news, trends, analysis, interviews and podcasts from the global food and beverage industry

Aldi and Arla Foods UK have launched an eight-week trial using ultraviolet tags to track milk bottles through the recycling system.

The pilot, conducted in partnership with recycling technology provider Polytag, aims to give the companies a clearer picture of how dairy packaging moves through the waste and recycling chain.

Invisible UV tags will be printed onto wrap-around labels applied to Arla’s milk bottles at its Oakthorpe dairy. The labels, produced by Saica Flex, use a food-safe fluorescent ink developed by Sun Chemical.

When the packaging reaches a materials recovery facility, Polytag’s detection units will scan the tags and record barcode-level data in real time. Aldi and Arla will be able to access the information through Polytag’s online dashboard, providing insight into the bottles’ recycling rates and journey.

The project builds on an initial trial conducted by Aldi, Arla and Polytag in 2023, which used pressure-sensitive labels. The latest pilot uses wrap-around labels, designed to offer greater durability and coverage.

Luke Emery, plastics and packaging director at Aldi UK, said: "By integrating this advanced traceability technology into our packaging, we can gain deeper insights into the lifecycle of our materials”.

Helena Delgado Nordmann, head of sustainability at Arla Foods UK, shared: "By working with Polytag, we hope to gain valuable insight into how milk bottle packaging moves through the recycling system, helping us to make more informed decisions about future packaging developments and supporting our ongoing efforts to improve packaging circularity”.

Stefaan D’hoore, director of business development for speciality inks and coatings at Sun Chemical, commented: "This next phase of the collaboration showcases Sun Chemical's proprietary fluorescent ink technology for wrap-around labels.The ink has been tested against Recyclass’ Washing Quick Test Procedures and EPBP Quicktest QT 507 with good results. It has also been approved for use on labels designed to be optimally detected by Polytag's ink-agnostic detection units, helping to deliver robust recycling data and doesn’t impact the quality of the recycled polymers."

"This deployment marks an exciting milestone as the first commercial use of Sun Chemical's fluorescent ink with Polytag's technology, demonstrating how collaboration across the packaging value chain can support greater transparency and help accelerate the transition to a more circular economy."

The data collected during the pilot will be used to assess packaging performance and identify potential opportunities to improve recyclability and recycling rates.