Sustainable packaging choices that actually recycle

Brown board is not automatically greener. What determines kerbside recyclability is whether the fibre can be separated cleanly from everything else applied to it.

Plastic lamination is the usual culprit. Swapping gloss lamination for a varnish or an uncoated stock keeps a carton in the paper stream.

Water-based and soy inks are widely accepted by recycling mills. Heavy metallic foil across a large area is not — keep foil to logos and accents.

Ask for a recycled content percentage in writing and print it on the pack only if the supply chain can hold that specification for repeat runs.