Retailers M&S and Ocado tagging Single Use Plastics to track them through recycling streams | 11-08-2025 |
Following the announcement earlier this year that Waitrose was going to adopt smart tag technology to track its single use plastic (SUP) waste packaging (see newsletter 23-04-25) two other major UK food retailers, Marks and Spencer and Ocado have introduced the invisible, ultraviolet tags from AIPIA member Polytag on some products to track them through the recycling system. The supermarket and online retailer claims to be the first to roll out the packaging tags on shop shelves.
The tags have been printed onto the labels of M&S’s 4-pint, milk bottles, available nationwide in stores, with the aim of boosting recycling rates. Once recycled by households, bottles will be scanned by Polytag’s plastic detection units, if the recycling facility has been retrofitted with the technology.
M&S will then be able to view live recycling data, accessing real-time, barcode-level insights into the recycling of this SUP packaging. Polytag said the data is designed to accurately track sustainability targets, improve the accuracy of recycling claims and strengthen compliance with regulations that require businesses to pay for the management and recycling of their products’ packaging waste.
The hope is also that the tags can help to reduce M&S’s costs under these extended producer responsibility (EPR) rules through more precise reporting. It has also invested £100,000 into Polytag’s Ecotrace programme, it says, which aims to drive the rollout of a nationwide, invisible UV tag reader network. Co-op and Aldi have also been working with Polytag to introduce UV tags to their products.
The online grocery retailer Ocado’s roll-out includes the full milk range and marks a foundational step in enabling circularity at scale, it believes. The company said these ‘tags’ will enable real-time, barcode-level insights into where, when, and how much of its packaging is being recycled.
Polytag has installed a network of Plastic Detection Units (PDUs) in high-volume Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) across the UK and Northern Ireland. It said these units are now capable of monitoring nearly 50% of the UK’s household recycling stream, detecting UV-tagged items automatically and sharing live, verified data via the Polytag dashboard.
Laura Fernandez, senior sustainability manager, Ocado Retail, said, “We’re proud to be the first online retailer to introduce Polytag’s UV-watermark technology on our own brand range. The technology allows us to truly understand the full lifecycle of our packaging, and make meaningful decisions based on that data. Being able to track our products through the recycling system is a significant milestone as we pave the way toward more sustainable practices.”
Mark Hitschmann, head of packaging at M&S Food, explained, “We expect to gain more data and insight around what is happening to our packaging in the real world through our work with Polytag. Our customers consistently tell us that reducing plastic is very important to them so this is another way they can trust that M&S is doing the right thing to help them easily make more sustainable choices when they shop with us.”
Alice Rackley, chief executive of Polytag, said, “Retailers and brands can no longer afford to lose sight of packaging the moment it leaves their supply chain. With EPR now in effect, we’re entering a new era where real data is not just helpful, it’s essential. By tagging products and tracking their journey through the recycling system we’re creating a clear line of sight. This signals not only a commitment to transparency, but a real shift in how the industry approaches responsibility. It’s a major milestone for the Ecotrace programme and for the wider UK recycling industry,” she added.
