RadTech, the Association for UV+EB Technologies, Chevy Chase, Maryland, commends the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) on the release of a new resource for paper-based packaging designers.

Ultraviolet- and electron beam-cured inks have been found to cause few problems in the recycling process, according to a recent study by the AF&PA. The AF&PA Design Guidance for Recyclability, rated UV EB inks as not adversely impacting the recyclability of corrugated packaging, bleached paperboard cartons, recycled/unbleached boxboard coated/uncoated, carrier stock cartons unbleached Kraft paperboard, Kraft paper bags, multiwall shipping sacks and molded fiber containers.

Brian Hawkinson, executive director, American Forest & Paper Association, stated that with increased interest among consumer products companies to provide more recyclable packaging for their customers, AF&PA recognized the opportunity to bring clarity to how packaging gets recycled in paper mills and how various non-fiber elements affect the recyclability of paper-based packaging.

The objective of the Design Guidance for Paper-Based Packaging is to present research-based findings on the effect on recyclability of various non-fiber elements frequently found on paper-based packaging. AF&PA believes this guidance will prove useful to members of the paper-based packaging manufacturing supply chain — consumer products companies that desire more recyclable packaging, designers that specify it and the manufacturers and converters who make it — helping them better achieve their goals.

Download the Design Guidance at https://afandpa.org/sustainability/Design-Guidance-Recyclability. For more information, visit www.afandpa.org and www.radtech.org.