Woodly recyclability: RECOUP confirms collectable, detectable and recycle-ready material
London, UK – June 2026
Independent RECOUP assessment shows how Woodly® can move from recycle-ready to recycled at scale in the UK flexibles system.
Recyclability is often treated as a yes-or-no question. The new independent RECOUP assessment of packaging made with Woodly® shows why the real answer is more useful, and more interesting. The report confirms that Woodly® has several of the core technical credentials required for recycling: it is mechanically recycle-ready, density separable and identifiable by near-infrared sorting technology. It also shows that Woodly® films and flexibles can fit into the direction of UK collection systems.
The key challenge is not that Woodly® cannot be collected, seen or processed. The challenge is the same one facing the wider films and flexibles category: building enough scale, reprocessing capacity, end-market demand and commercial value to make recycling happen in practice.
That makes the report an important milestone for Woodly, and a practical roadmap for the next stage of circularity.
Woodly® is in scope for kerbside collection
One of the clearest findings in the RECOUP report is that Woodly® films and flexibles are within scope for future kerbside collection under the Simpler Recycling framework from March 2027.
Collection is the first step in any credible recycling route. If a material cannot enter the collection system, the conversation becomes theoretical very quickly.
The report confirms that for Woodly®, collection is not a barrier. Packaging made with Woodly® can be collected through suitable take-back systems today, and is structurally aligned with the household collection direction being rolled out for films and flexibles.
That is good news for brands, retailers and converters looking beyond today’s limited flexibles infrastructure and towards the system that is now being built.
The scanner can see it
RECOUP’s testing confirmed that Woodly® has a distinct near-infrared signature.
Using a specialist hand-held scanner, all five Woodly® samples tested by RECOUP were correctly identified as Woodly® with up to 99% confidence. In other words: Woodly® has its own detectable material identity, a unique NIR spectrum.
That is important because modern recycling systems rely heavily on optical sorting. A material that cannot be detected is very hard to sort. A material with a clear spectral fingerprint can be recognised, added to sorting libraries and targeted when the system has a reason to do so.
This is not a case of needing entirely new detection technology. It is a case of calibration, data, volume and commercial intent.
Woodly® films can enter the flexibles stream
The report makes an important distinction between technical sortability and commercial sortability. Woodly® can be identified and separated using existing optical sorting principles. It does not require a completely new recycling universe to be invented around it.
However, today’s industrial sorting systems are largely calibrated around the materials already collected and sold at high volume, particularly PET, HDPE, PP and PE. New materials are not automatically selected as target materials until there is sufficient volume and a commercial case for doing so.
In RECOUP’s industrial trials, the Woodly® flexible sandwich bag was consistently captured as flexible packaging. For Woodly’s current strategic focus, films and flexibles for fresh food and produce packaging, that is the most relevant point.
Woodly® films can enter the flexibles stream. The next task is to build the onward route.
A red rating does not tell the whole story
Under the current UK Recyclability Assessment Methodology, flexible packaging made with Woodly® is likely to receive a red rating.
That sounds simple. It is not. For innovative materials, a red rating can reflect system readiness as much as material design. Woodly® is neither biodegradable nor compostable, and it is not designed for landfill. It is a wood-based bioplastic material with mechanical recycling potential. The current system and methodology favour materials that are already collected, sorted and reprocessed at scale.
That creates a circular economy paradox.
Recyclers need volume before investing in sorting. Producers and brands need credible recycling routes before scaling adoption. New materials need scale before the system recognises them, but the system often waits for scale before making room. That is the gap Woodly is now working to close.
The real flexibles challenge is economics
The report is also blunt about the wider flexibles problem. Flexible packaging remains one of the most difficult formats to recycle commercially in the UK. This is not specific to Woodly®. It affects conventional films and flexibles too. The economics explain why. Recycling flexible plastics can cost many times more than energy recovery. For recycling operators working on tight margins, the decision is not emotional. It is commercial.
That is why one of the most important takeaways from the report is not simply: “Can this material be recycled?” It is: who wants the recycled material, at what volume, and at what value? This is where circularity becomes real. Not in the label. In the value chain.
Woodly’s next steps
The RECOUP report gives Woodly and its partners a practical to-do list.
Woodly will continue to:
- extend reprocessing and polyolefin compatibility testing
- grow its network of approved reprocessors
- work with partners on take-back and collection models
- stimulate end markets for recycled Woodly® material
- explore routes for Woodly® to be recycled back into Woodly applications
- engage with recyclers, converters, brands, retailers, policymakers and industry associations
The aim is clear, to move from recycle-ready to recycled at scale.
“RECOUP’s assessment gives us and our customers and partners confidence, but also direction,” said Jonathan Edmunds, Sustainability Director at Woodly. “Woodly® can be collected, detected and mechanically recycled. The next task is to build the volume, end markets and partnerships that make recycling happen in practice. That is not a Woodly-only challenge. It is the challenge facing the whole flexibles category.”
The full RECOUP assessment is available here: Woodly RECOUP Report
About Woodly
Woodly is a material technology company developing Woodly®, a wood-based bioplastic made from cellulose.
Woodly® is designed as a drop-in resin for existing processing equipment and is focused on fresh food and produce packaging applications, where its tunable permeability helps extend shelf life, protect product quality and create value for growers, packers and retailers.
About RECOUP
RECOUP is the UK’s leading independent authority and trusted voice on plastics resource efficiency and recycling. As a registered charity, RECOUP works across the plastics value chain to support collaboration, circular economy development, recycling, reuse and education.
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