Valpak offer Green Dot Guidance
Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 24 March 2009
Valpak, the packaging recycling compliance scheme, has published guidance for UK companies considering whether to use the Green Dot logo on their packaging.
Valpak is responsible for monitoring the UK use of The Green Dot that is used in a number of European countries to show a firm has met its obligations as outlined in the Packaging Waste Directive.
While the symbol does not have the same implication in the UK - it is merely a registered trademark - a number of brands carry the Green Dot and Valpak has developed the guidance to ensure consumers and businesses correctly understand it.
The move follows concerns that consumers believed a pack that displayed the Green Dot was recyclable.
The guidance suggests that only multinational brands that use the same packaging in other European markets should adopt the symbol. Those that already have it on their packs should "print it in a responsible" manner so as not cause confusion and provide more detailed explanation via the company website, for example.
Senior marketing manager Richard Barnish told Packaging News Valpak "would be in favour of simplifying labelling" but it was important to know exactly what message the labels conveyed.
"We want to make sure consumers are not misled," he said.
There is no equivalent symbol in the UK that denotes whether a company had complied with its packaging waste obligations, although the information is available via the Environment Agency public register.
The Green Dot, or Der Gr�ne Punkt, symbol was developed in Germany and adopted by a number of other European countries with the advent of the Packaging Waste Directive.
The guidelines can be viewed on the Valpak website at www.valpak.co.uk
