Marks & Spencer (M&S) has rolled out invisible ultraviolet (UV) labels on four-pint milk bottles, a technology can track plastic packaging to recycling facilities across the UK to provide better data on recycling gains.
The UV tags, developed by recycling company Polytag, aim to provide M&S with real information on where, when and how much of its single-use plastic packaging is collected and sorted in UK recycling centres.
The tags are invisible to the naked eye and are printed directly onto the bottle labels.
Once the bottles have been recycled, Polytag’s detection units scan the UV tags at the retrofitted recycling facilities.
M&S can then obtain real-time barcode-level data on how and where its packaging is recycled.
The initiative aims to unlock granular data on over 50 per cent of the UK household waste recycling system to provide a verified benchmark for understanding recycling rates of used plastic packaging.
In May, M&S became a founding member of the Polytag Ecotrace programme, an initiative set by Polytag to optimise the tracking and recycling of single-use plastic packaging in the UK.
The initiative aims to help retailers track sustainability goals, improve recycling claims, and comply with Extended Producer Responsibility (ERP) regulations.
Other large retailers, including Aldi and Co-op, also joined the initiative.
Mark Hitschmann, head of packaging at M&S Food, said: “Reducing plastic is central to our Plan A journey to Net Zero and since 2022 we’ve removed over 500m units from our Foodhalls.”
M&S’ Plan A for the Journey to Zero is the retailer’s roadmap initiated in 2007 to become a zero-emission company along the entire value chain by 2040.
The map includes targets such as reducing emissions by one-third by 2025 (from a 2017 baseline) through projects validated by the Science Based Targets (SBTi) initiative, including Forestry, Land and Agriculture (FLAG) and non-FLAG emissions.
Earlier this month, M&S announced it is allocating £1 million towards funding innovation projects designed to help it meet its net zero target by 2040.
The retailer stated that all projects will use innovation and technology to accelerate the reduction of Scope 3 emissions through partnerships within the M&S supply chain, where 95 per cent of emissions are concentrated.
