Through the program, companies can simply use an online web application to schedule a pickup of used label liners by Avery Dennison to one of its recycling partners. The web app also provides useful data in the form of regularly updated analytics and certificates on the amount of recycled liner material, the amount of CO₂ emissions they’ve avoided as a result, and more. Collection and transport of used liners through AD Circular will comply with EU regulations, and the costs will be comparable to existing waste disposal services.

“Companies in Europe consumed some 470 kilotons of label liners in 2019, yet just over a third were recycled,” noted Burak Sahbaz, senior director marketing & sustainability, citing statistics from AWA, a label industry consulting firm. “Landfilling or incinerating that many liners, and using all that material only once, is not environmentally sustainable, and runs contrary to consumer expectations and the spirit of European regulations establishing a circular economy. By working in collaboration with recyclers, our peer companies, and the brands that use our materials, we believe AD Circular is a big step forward in reducing and eventually eliminating label waste.”

AD Circular will launch in eight countries during the first half of 2021, including France, Spain, Belgium, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, and the UK. The program will then launch in other European countries in the latter half of the year. Mr. Sahbaz said the program’s ultimate goal is by 2025 to recycle 75% of the label waste Avery Dennnison brings to the European market. Recycling 1 kilogram of liner avoids the emission of 2.28 kilograms of carbon dioxide, he noted.