Sun Chemical Enables Aldi and Arla’s Smart Packaging for Milk Bottles to Track Recycling using Polytag’s UV Tags
The eight-week trial uses specially developed ink on wrap-around labels to deliver unprecedented packaging lifecycle data and insights
SOUTH NORMANTON, UK – 3rd August 2026 – UK supermarket Aldi and the UK’s largest dairy cooperative, Arla, are collaborating with recycling platform, Polytag, on an operational pilot to track milk bottle packaging through the recycling process using innovative UV-tagging technology to get a better understanding of the product lifecycle.
Building on their 2023 collaboration, the brands are working to improve packaging traceability and better understand how milk bottle packaging moves through the recycling system through this next phase of the pilot. This project utilises Sun Chemical’s specially developed ink on wrap-around labels to provide comprehensive recycling data.
The work represents a further development in packaging traceability, with UV-tagged labels applied to Arla’s milk bottle range at its Oakthorpe site. The labels, printed by Saica Flex, will enable real-time tracking of packaging as it moves through the recycling stream, providing visibility into the recycling rates and journey of dairy packaging.
Luke Emery, Plastics and Packaging Director, Aldi UK, said: “This next phase with Polytag represents an exciting step forward in how we use data to drive our sustainability strategy. By integrating this advanced traceability technology into our packaging, we can gain deeper insights into the lifecycle of our materials.”
Helena Delgado Nordmann, head of sustainability at Arla Foods UK, shared: “As Europe’s largest dairy cooperative, Arla is committed to understanding how our packaging performs beyond point of sale. By working with Polytag, we hope to gain valuable insight into how milk bottle packaging moves through the recycling system, helping us to make more informed decisions about future packaging developments and supporting our ongoing efforts to improve packaging circularity.”
Stefaan D’hoore, Director of Business Development, Specialty Ink & Coatings at Sun Chemical, said: “This next phase of the collaboration showcases Sun Chemical’s proprietary fluorescent ink technology for wrap-around labels. The ink has been tested against Recyclass’ Washing Quick Test Procedures and EPBP Quicktest QT 507 with good results. The ink has been approved for use on labels designed to be optimally detected by Polytag’s ink-agnostic detection units, helping to deliver robust recycling data and doesn’t impact the quality of the recycled polymers. This deployment marks an exciting milestone as the first commercial use of Sun Chemical’s fluorescent ink with Polytag’s technology, demonstrating how collaboration across the packaging value chain can support greater transparency and help accelerate the transition to a more circular economy.”
So how does UV technology work?
Invisible UV tags are printed directly onto packaging labels using food-safe fluorescent ink that has undergone rigorous safety and recycling testing. The ink is applied using standard printing methods, making it a low-cost, easy-to-integrate solution that doesn’t impact production speed. Unlike the 2023 trial, which used pressure-sensitive labels, this iteration employs wrap-around labels, providing enhanced durability and coverage.
When tagged packaging enters the recycling stream, Polytag’s Plastic Detection Units installed at Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) capture barcode-level data in real-time. This information is accessible via the Polytag dashboard, providing brands and retailers with detailed visibility of their packaging’s journey through the recycling process.
Alice Rackley, CEO, Polytag, said: “This next phase deployment with Aldi and Arla milk bottle labels demonstrates the scalability and reliability of the UV-tagging solution. It’s been a pleasure working with Saica Flex to deliver this latest stage of the project, demonstrating the value of collaboration in bringing innovative packaging solutions to market. This represents continued progress in packaging design, offering brands a seamless, cost-effective path to comprehensive recycling insights.”
Industry Leadership in Recycling Innovation
Polytag has established itself as a leader in the recycling industry, recently achieving a milestone 100% detection rate with global packaging compliance leader Citeo at one of Europe’s busiest MRFs in France.
The data captured through UV-tagging is the first step in charting the lifecycle of product packaging with real data, starting a journey for brands to be able to measure progress against sustainability targets and support data-informed decisions that may help identify opportunities to improve recyclability and recycling performance.
Polytag recently released a white paper titled, ‘EPR That Works: Incentivising Real Recycling with Data and Innovation’, which was supported by major compliance agencies, Ecosurety and Valpak, as well as leading UK retailers including Waitrose, M&S, and Ocado Retail to help shape the future of recycling using verified recycling data and make the circular economy a reality which can be read at www.polytag.io
About Polytag
Polytag delivers smart packaging and product solutions to drive sustainable action for brands and manufacturers, specialising in GS1-compliant QR codes, data matrices, digital product passports, anti-counterfeiting, and supply chain intelligence, providing brands and retailers with the traceability data they need to meet environmental goals and close the loop on packaging. Clients include Lucozade Suntory, Waitrose, M&S and Ocado.
About Aldi UK
Aldi is Britain’s fourth-largest supermarket with more than 1,080 stores and more than 43,000 colleagues. The supermarket believes in making every day amazing and delivering the best possible value for millions of families throughout the UK and Ireland.
That’s why Aldi is the UK’s Cheapest Supermarket, according to consumer champion Which? (June 2026), and also the Cheapest Supermarket of the Year for 2025 – an accolade it has now won consecutively for the past five years.
About Arla Foods
Arla Foods is one of the UK’s largest food companies and the country’s largest dairy cooperative, with market-leading brands including Lurpak, Arla Cravendale and Arla Protein. The business also produces products under licence for well-known brands such as Starbucks, Yeo Valley and Baileys.
With more than 3,600 colleagues across the UK, people are at the heart of Arla’s business. Globally, Arla employs over 22,000 colleagues, and its products are enjoyed in more than 100 countries. Arla is owned by more than 7,265 dairy farmers across seven European countries: the UK, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
About Sun Chemical
Sun Chemical, a member of the DIC Group, is a leading producer of packaging and graphic solutions, color and display technologies, functional products, electronic materials, and products for the automotive and healthcare industries. Together with DIC, Sun Chemical is continuously working to promote and develop sustainable solutions to exceed customer expectations and better the world around us. With combined annual sales of more than $7 billion and 21,000+ employees worldwide, the DIC Group companies support a diverse collection of global customers.
Sun Chemical Corporation is a subsidiary of Sun Chemical Group Coöperatief U.A., the Netherlands, and is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, U.S.A. For more information, please visit our website at www.sunchemical.com or connect with us on LinkedIn, or Instagram.
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