Before How2Recycle releases our semi-annual Guidelines for Use — a guidance document on recyclability and labeling for our more than 800 members — we’re excited to announce the addition of a new source into our assessment data ecosystem. Through a joint initiative, we will include acceptance data from The Recycling Partnership’s semi-annual report, U.S. Community Recycling Program Acceptance Data, as a key source for our label assessments.
How2Recycle members will see this new acceptance data source reflected as part of our recyclability assessments in our upcoming Guidelines for Use, which will be released on January 31, 2025.
To determine a material’s recyclability for our label assessments, How2Recycle evaluates five pillars:
- Applicable law
- Collection (access and acceptance)
- Sortation
- Technical reprocessability
- End markets
Where access refers to a household’s ability to participate in community recycling programs, acceptance is determined by whether or not a recycling program communicates that a material will be accepted for recycling.
The Recycling Partnership’s National Recycling Database captures acceptance data representing 9,000 local recycling programs, which covers 99% of the U.S. population. Now, the Database will inform The Recycling Partnership’s semi-annual acceptance report and, consequently, How2Recycle’s acceptance data evaluation. To learn more about how this acceptance data is collected and maintained in the Database, you can view the National Recycling Database Methodology Overview.
“Each pillar of our recyclability assessments is backed by industry-leading national data,” said GreenBlue Executive Director Paul Nowak. “With the inclusion of The Recycling Partnership’s acceptance data, we’re making sure that we’re evaluating the most up-to-date, actionable information as we determine a material’s potential to be collected.”
How2Recycle is grateful to its members and industry partners for their contribution of data that informs every pillar of our assessments.
To review the acceptance factor of our assessments, How2Recycle will consider The Recycling Partnership’s data in addition to others; however, by 2026, we will move to reviewing The Recycling Partnership’s semi-annual report as our principal source specifically on acceptance data.
For all other pillars of our assessments (applicable law, sortation, technical reprocessability, and end markets), we will continue to review the data contributed by our incredible network of members and partners.
What’s Next? Harmonizing Acceptance Data by 2026
As we transition to prioritizing the evaluation of The Recycling Partnership’s data for our understanding of material acceptance, we encourage our members and the industry to harmonize their own data with The Recycling Partnership. Collaborating and harmonizing acceptance data with The Recycling Partnership will ensure both that your data is included in future How2Recycle acceptance assessments and that the data informing our assessments is as accurate and comprehensive as possible.
To begin harmonizing your access and acceptance data with The Recycling Partnership, please reach out to their Data Team at datateam@recyclingpartnership.org.