- How the SPRITE Program Works
- Identifying the Closest Recycling Bin
- Decreasing the Amount of Litter
- Analytics for Recycling Behavior and Trends
Aug 24, 2022Chip provider PragmatIC has completed an eight-week pilot of Near Field Communication (NFC) RFID technology to track recyclable beverage containers from stores to the point of recycling. The company now reports that its Sustainable Plastics Recycling Innovation by Tagging Electronically (SPRITE) project has proven the technology is effective and could boost recycling rates.
The pilot, which took place this spring at several sites throughout the United Kingdom, tested how bottled beverages could be identified upon entering a store, then as the products move through the returns process. By providing an app with which consumers could locate the closest recycling point, and with smart recycle bins containing NFC readers, the system was intended to encourage recycling and provide consumers with a refund of about 25 pence (30 cents). The participating beverage brands and retailers have asked to remain unnamed.
PragmatIC used a variety of off-the-shelf readers, which it customized for the project. While the actual pilot lasted for eight weeks, planning commenced in 2021 (see U.K. NFC Pilot Focuses on Recycling), according to Joshua Young, PragmatIC's circular economy manager. The company provided several NFC read points for empty bottle returns, he says, as well as its own 13.56 MHz NFC FlexIC tags, compliant with the ISO 14443 standard, which were applied to the labels of several thousand bottles at the point of manufacture.
A SPRITE smart recycling bin
How the SPRITE Program Works
Currently, many British and European consumers take part in deposit-return schemes by which a deposit is returned to a consumer once a container is recycled. However, many shoppers might not take the additional step of returning emptied containers to a proper recycling location. The SPRITE program provides greater incentive for them to do so, while offering stores and brands greater visibility into how their products and packaging move through the supply chain and into the waste stream. According to the company, the pilot measured a 68 percent return rate of bottles recycled using the smart bins.
In the future, PragmatIC hopes the pilot will lead to widespread deployments of the technology to aid in deposit returns, and Young says the company is in discussions with manufacturers and retailers about implementing the technology. The study was multifaceted, he notes, with an approach of testing NFC from a technology perspective, while gauging the environmental gains such a solution could provide related to recycling rates. "We've been able to tick both boxes for the success of the project," he states.
Tags were first applied to bottle labels, then were scanned to create an identity for each bottle in the cloud-based software. Each tag was encoded with a unique ID number that could enable the tracking of the corresponding bottle throughout its useful lifespan. When participating retailers received the tagged bottles, personnel at those locations captured tag IDs via NFC-enabled smartphones or tablets.
The data was updated in the software to indicate the beverages were received and being placed on the shelf for sale. When consumers then purchased the tagged products, each tag could be read at the point of sale. Consumers paid a bottle deposit at the time of purchasing, and they could download the SPRITE app by scanning the tag to create a link between their deposit account and their smartphone.
Identifying the Closest Recycling Bin
As bottles were emptied, users scanned them. The app then identified their location based on the phone's GPS and located the closest smart recycling bin. That bin could be located at a supermarket at which they purchased products, or it could be publicly accessible. The users followed directions to the read point, placing the bottles inside the appointed collection site. An NFC reader built into the bin read the tags, after which a refund was deposited into the owner's account.
The tags are designed to be relatively sustainable, the company reports. The FlexIC chips are thin and bendable, enabling the application of a single antenna layer, and they can be attached to paper or plastic inlays. The chips are designed to be lower in cost than standard NFC chips, according to PragmatIC, and inlay and packaging firms can more easily apply them during production than they'd be able to using standard silicon chips.
Because of the tag's low environmental impact, Young says, "We've actually been able to measure and quantify that by adding an NFC tag to a typical PET [plastic] bottle. You're only adding less than 1 percent of the overall carbon footprint." When the improvement of recycling rates is measured, he adds, the net gain would outweigh the additional impact.
Joshua Young
Decreasing the Amount of Litter
The 68 percent measured return rate does not include any recycling that took place with non-smart bins. Therefore, Young says, the total recycling rate can be presumed to be higher than the recorded figure. "[It's] definitely higher than what it would have been previous to that pilot." In general, recycling rates in the United Kingdom are typically below 40 percent.
The pilot had a built-in method to encourage the public to clean up discarded bottles. If someone were to find an empty tagged bottle, they could tap their phone on the NFC-enabled smart bin and drop the bottle inside it. The tag would then automatically be read, and the individual recycling it would receive a refund. "That means there's incentive for people to actually pick up litter off the streets," Young states.
The next phase for PragmatIC is to design the system to provide a Web-based interface, thus eliminating the need for consumers to download an app. Instead, the company reports, users could simply tap their smartphone and view the resulting data, then claim their refund.
Analytics for Recycling Behavior and Trends
In the long term, Young envisions a world in which smart bins may be deployed throughout the United Kingdom, with NFC tags being used for a large percentage of beverages to prompt higher recycling rates. "I think our technology helps in terms of the cost, in terms of the footprint," he says, since PragmatIC offers a low-cost and relatively sustainable product for tagging bottles, while enabling incentives and the means to prompt more recycling.
In addition, the solution could provide analytics to boost optimization, by offering brands and retailers the data necessary to examine return behavior patterns. The system could also direct the efforts of local authorities or councils to help them target certain areas in which compliance is low, or where more bins might be required, enabling them to optimize implementation
In the United Kingdom, Young says, "We're seeing a lot of movement in legislation that extends producer responsibility by asking brands and retailers to take more responsibility for the cost of waste management." He adds, "For a brand or retailer to be able to know exactly how many bottles they put onto the market, and how much of that has been captured through the recycling system, is hugely valuable."
This is a new approach to NFC RFID technology use, Young notes, since the technology is more commonly being employed for supply chain traceability from manufacturer to store, prior to purchase. "I think this is a really quite significant point," he states, "to show how NFC RFID can be used downstream, beyond the point of the consumer."
Key Takeaways:
- A U.K. pilot led by PragmatIC finds that an NFC tag, an app and smart bins can encourage recycling, while tracking overall rates and consumer behaviors.
- Retailers and brands are now considering deployments of the technology at sites across the United Kingdom.
