Features Research & Innovation
Making recycling smarter

The smart labels added to the recycling containers and scanned by a mobile app tell when the customers’ waste is ready to be collected.

RafCycle is a cost efficient waste recycling solution that collects label release liner waste from UPM Raflatac’s partners throughout Europe. The RafMore smart label solution was tested with several RafCycle customers in Denmark and Sweden, and the waste material collected from these customers can be turned into new products at UPM Plattling paper mill in Germany where the paper release liners are de-siliconized and recycled into pulp and paper, closing the loop.

Previously, the waste collection process was done manually, which required much communication between UPM Raflatac and the customers. By combining two innovative solutions, UPM Raflatac makes recycling smarter than before.

“We now give our RafCycle customers unique codes through which we can track the exact amount of waste and give direct feedback via the RafMore mobile application,” Claus Søndergaard, sales manager, Denmark, UPM Raflatac, said. “This helps us to better manage our logistic processes, making the waste collection process more efficient. By doing so, we offer our customers better service and help them to make more sustainable choices.”

“We have been using RafCycle for recycling our glassine liners from our production for several years now and it has been a great solution,” Per Hasso, warehouse assistant, Xellia Pharmaceuticals, said. “Recently, we implemented the new RafMore solution which made for logistic efficiency in our warehouse because it moved the planning of RafCycle pickups into the hands of UPM Raflatac. The mobile app itself is easy to install and use. On top of the logistic app solution, we now have a better overview of the total volume that has been moved from waste to a resource.”

Xellia Pharmaceuticals was an early adopter within the pharmaceutical industry to take advantage of the RafCycle program and enter into a circular economy solution for their glassine waste.

RafMore is more than a label and is a new innovative solution that allows brand owners to turn ordinary product labels into smart packaging that tells an ever-evolving story. Using the latest digital printing technology, RafMore transforms traditional product packaging into connected packaging with a unique traceable identity. UPM Raflatac is planning to take RafMore into use in other countries.

UPM Raflatac leads the label industry with RafCycle®, an innovative recycling concept that offers a new life for label waste. Label recycling provides numerous benefits to printers, packers, brand-owners, and, of course, the environment. UPM Raflatac currently has more than 100 RafCycle customers globally.