People want to recycle. They want to recycle right. And as consumers become increasingly skeptical about whether the materials they place in recycling bins are truly recycled, being transparent isn’t just an option — it’s our responsibility.
What do we owe consumers then? Convenient, clear, and transparent information on what to do with the products or packaging they’ve purchased from us.
Convenience, we have figured out. With on-pack labels, we’re putting disposal instructions where 78% of people look for them. Clarity is improved too — we’ve found that 83% of consumers recognize How2Recycle instructions as instructions, and we just refreshed our designs to make those instructions even clearer.
Transparency is where our members come in. By putting the right label on packaging, be it “Widely Recyclable” or “Not Yet Recyclable,” you’re fulfilling a responsibility to consumers — you’re giving them the tools they need to make the right disposal decision. That’s what makes both of these labels equally important. No matter the recyclability designation, your use of a How2Recycle label contributes to a better, clearer, more trustworthy recycling system. Let’s explore why and how we can build that system together.
Empowering the Right Recycling — or Disposal — Decision
If 94% of people support recycling, but some research shows that only 35% of people actually recycle, we’re seeing a breakdown between consumer intention and action. Of course access to recycling programs is a huge factor, but we can’t overlook the role of consumer confusion.
One study found that 62% of Americans worry that a lack of knowledge is causing them to recycle incorrectly. This doesn’t mean that they’re failing to seek out that information, either — in fact, the opposite is true. They’re looking to packaging to tell them what to do. And an uptick in interest around understanding “wishcycling” tells us that they want to recycle right.
So our team studied the best ways to tell them how to do just that. We researched different design hierarchies, different symbols, and different terms to create labels that quickly and effectively tells consumers what they need to do. That’s why, on our new Widely Recyclable labels, you’ll see the chasing arrows symbol that 91% of consumers recognize instructing people to recycle the material. Then in our Not Yet Recyclable labels, you’ll see a trash bin symbol and instructions telling people: “do not recycle.” In these and all our labels, we see an opportunity for members to help prevent the wishcycling consumers want to avoid and empower them with the information they need to make the right recycling or disposal decision.
We’re Meeting Consumer Demands on Transparency
It’s no secret that consumers value transparency from organizations and reject greenwashing. Nearly a third of them are good at spotting greenwashing claims, too. Pair this all with the fact that 69% of Americans hold companies responsible for the end-of-life disposal of the products they manufacture, and a transparent disposal instruction becomes table stakes.
This is why, at How2Recycle, we believe that printing a Not Yet Recyclable label on designated materials is just as important as printing Widely Recyclable labels on your packaging. When we commit to telling consumers what they can recycle, we’re also responsible to tell consumers what they can’t recycle. When we do, we’re fueling a virtuous cycle: A consumer looks to the label, finds clear instructions, strengthens their association with the label, but most importantly, they make the right disposal decision and better understand what to do with that material next time.
The End Result: We Get Waste into the Right Streams
When we print “Not Yet Recyclable” labels on-pack, we’re fortifying consumer trust in a system where brands communicate honestly about the end-life of products and packaging.
And what’s the point of all this? From a PR perspective, it’d be pretty nice to make sure that your packaging isn’t on the cover of an article about wishcycling or litter. We know though that our members care about much more than PR. We’re in this together because we want to make sure that our products and packaging find their way into the right stream — no matter if that’s a landfill or a recycling facility — and stay out of our natural environment.
So ahead of our upcoming Guidelines for Use and our roll out of refreshed label designs, we encourage our members to use their platform to improve our recycling system with communications that are consistently convenient, clear, and transparent. Log in to your member platform to get the ball rolling on new labels today.