Recycling keeps billions of pounds of plastic out of oceans and landfills every year. Learn how the recycling process works within a larger system of solutions to tackle plastic waste, protect the environment, strengthen the economy, and build a more sustainable world.

Congratulations! You have picked the most optimal design feature(s) for recycling. Consider obtaining APR Recognition for your component.

Since 1994, the APR Design® Guide for Plastics Recyclability has helped companies measure each aspect of a package design against industry-accepted criteria to ensure that it is truly recycling compatible.  By minimizing contamination from the start, good design reduces costs throughout the recycling value chain and improves productivity. It also ensures high-quality post-consumer resin (PCR) that can reduce the need for new plastic. Cited by leading organizations like the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the APR Design® Guide is widely recognized as the authority on how to design plastic packaging for recyclability in North America.

After assessing a design feature or set of design features, learn what action to take based on your recyclability category.

Consider using a design feature option that is listed as APR Design Preferred or use our APR Directory of Recognized Components to find commercially available options that have already received APR Recognition.

Launched in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the APR Design® Guide, the inaugural APR Recycling Leadership Awards celebrate individuals and organizations whose outstanding achievements are improving plastics recyclability.

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The recyclability of a full package that contains any design feature that requires testing, provided that the package does not have other design features that are known to be detrimental to recycling or that render the package non-recyclable.

There are multiple non-contact methods to measure wedge or parallelism.  Autocollimators are a common device used in the optics industry to do this.  When light passes through an optical wedge, the beam is deflected by some angle, δ, which is defined by the refractive index of the glass, n, and the glass’s mechanical wedge angle, α. The calculation for this is given by the formula: δ = (n-1) · α.

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The APR Design® Guide is an essential tool to design products for recyclability. However, design is not the only criteria required in order to be considered recyclable. A package is only recyclable if it satisfies all the below criteria:

While this method is useful, the accuracy and reproducibility of the results are dependent on having a skilled operator.  It is also necessary to have a target mirror that is flat to λ/4 or better to ensure that the return image is sufficiently well focused.  In addition to all of the measurement capabilities that an interferometer has, it is also useful in measuring the wedge of a window under certain conditions.

Founded over 30 years ago by mechanical recyclers, APR is an international non-profit and the only North American organization focused exclusively on improving recycling for plastics.

Companies whose packaging contains Detrimental features are reducing and lowering the quality of their own future supply of PCR. Improving features so that the entire packaging achieves Preferred Design for Recycling supports a healthy recycling system and increases PCR supply.

Founded over 30 years ago by mechanical recyclers, APR is an international non-profit and the only North American organization focused exclusively on improving recycling for plastics.

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Founded over 30 years ago by mechanical recyclers, APR is an international non-profit and the only North American organization focused exclusively on improving recycling for plastics.

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Understanding the impact of a packaging design feature in the recycling stream is imperative to maintaining and improving the recycling process. To support packaging manufacturers, designers, brands and retailers, APR has developed a suite of laboratory test protocols that can be used to assess the impact of a plastic design feature or component on recycling. APR test protocols combine laboratory practices and measurements developed specifically by and for plastic recyclers with standard ASTM tests. The objective of testing is to determine the impact of a design feature on the processability of a package item as well as the ability of post-consumer resin (PCR) derived from such feedstocks to meet quality specifications for end-use applications.

Recycling keeps billions of pounds of plastic out of oceans and landfills every year. Learn how the recycling process works within a larger system of solutions to tackle plastic waste, protect the environment, strengthen the economy, and build a more sustainable world.

To assess if a whole package is designed for recyclability, the individual assessments of all the design features must be added up and then categorized into one of four whole package recyclability categories. See the next tab for more details on how to assess a whole package.

The setup for measuring wedge of a plano optic is shown in the setup in the image.  The transmission flat (TF) and reference flat (RF) make a cavity with the wedge optic in between.  To reduce environmental errors, the distance between all components should be as small as possible.

Features readily accepted by MRFs and recyclers since the majority of the industry has the capability to identify, sort, and process a package exhibiting this feature with minimal, or no negative, effect on the productivity of the operation or final product quality.

Recycling keeps billions of pounds of plastic out of oceans and landfills every year. Learn how the recycling process works within a larger system of solutions to tackle plastic waste, protect the environment, strengthen the economy, and build a more sustainable world.

Package producers and regulatory bodies worldwide rely on the APR Design® Guide to create recyclable packaging, and regions in Asia, Europe and Africa use it as a foundation for local guidance. In early 2023, APR signed a collaboration agreement with Europe’s leading recycling non-profit, RecyClass, to study the alignment of design for recycling criteria and testing protocols. While recycling systems within both the United States and the European Union are currently decentralized and fragmented, APR believes that alignment between the organizations will accelerate progress by removing barriers, clarifying uncertainties, and defining a common vision.

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A full package that contains any detrimental design feature but does not contain any other features that render the package non-recyclable or require testing.

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For optical systems containing windows, measuring wedge can reduce error and increase efficiency.  Autocollimators are useful in measuring a window’s wedge, but the results are much less precise than those of an interferometer and are dependent of operator variability.  For this reason, ZYGO recommends the use of interferometry to measure the wedge of a window.

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In a circular economy, plastic packaging and products are designed to be compatible with the recycling system, reduce contamination, and enhance the stream of postconsumer resin (PCR) – which is then put back into new products. We call it Circular By Design™, and it all starts here.

In a circular economy, plastic packaging and products are designed to be compatible with the recycling system, reduce contamination, and enhance the stream of postconsumer resin (PCR) – which is then put back into new products. We call it Circular By Design™, and it all starts here.

Explore APR’s plastics recycling resources including the APR Design® guidance, recycling facts, policy updates, and more.

If you’re looking for more guidance on how to use the new digital tool, watch a recording of our webinar, or register for a customized virtual training session.

The performance of optical systems such as telescopes, camera lenses, and laser systems rely on the quality of the optical components within the systems. Many plano optical components appear completely parallel from a side view, however there is typically some wedge between the sides.  In extremely precise systems, knowing the degree of a window’s wedge is crucial.

In a circular economy, plastic packaging and products are designed to be compatible with the recycling system, reduce contamination, and enhance the stream of postconsumer resin (PCR) – which is then put back into new products. We call it Circular By Design™, and it all starts here.

Founded over 30 years ago by mechanical recyclers, APR is an international non-profit and the only North American organization focused exclusively on improving recycling for plastics.

Explore APR’s plastics recycling resources including the APR Design® guidance, recycling facts, policy updates, and more.

Features that present known technical challenges for the MRF or recycler’s yield, productivity or final product quality, but are grudgingly tolerated and accepted by the majority of MRFs and recyclers.

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The APR Design Guide provides the ability to assess the recyclability of each individual design feature of a package. APR has established four recyclability categories.

Consider using a design feature option that is listed as APR Design Preferred or use our APR Directory of Recognized Components to find commercially available options that have already received APR Recognition.

Obtain testing for your component based on APR Testing Protocols or use our APR Directory of Recognized Components to find commercially available options that have already received APR Recognition.

The APR Design Guide allows users to assesses each design feature of a package. Design features that are commonly used with plastic packaging applications include:

The majority of MRFs or reclaimers cannot remove these features to the degree required to generate a marketable end product, or the package cannot be captured at a majority of MRFs or reclaimers due to typical machinery settings or equipment capabilities.

Explore APR’s plastics recycling resources including the APR Design® guidance, recycling facts, policy updates, and more.

Companies benefit when their packaging is not only recyclable, but also yields high quality post-consumer resin (PCR). This is why APR distinguishes between Preferred and Detrimental features.

The APR Design® Guide offers extensive design guidance and testing protocols, enabling you to assess every component of a package design based on widely accepted industry standards.

Design features are classified according to the APR Recyclability Categories or test results where testing is required. All features of package design must be accounted for to understand how a whole package will perform in the recycling system. The APR Design Guide addresses design features individually so that users can assess whole packages.