Label your packaging
When you label your packaging with packaging material symbols, you help the consumer to understand how the packaging should be sorted. When the same symbols are on the packaging as on the recycling containers, it becomes easier to recycle.
A Nordic labelling system
The recycling labels are part of a joint Nordic labelling system for all waste fractions. The system has been developed by the Swedish Waste Management Association, a professional waste management body, together with sister associations in the Nordic countries, and packaging producers.
Do you sell packaging in several Nordic countries? Please note that there may be differences in use between the Nordic countries as adjustments have been made to adapt the system to Swedish conditions.
You download the cmyk-adapted EPS files by clicking on the images. Do you need the symbols in other formats? Contact us and we will help you!
Design guidelines
The size of the symbol can be scaled up or down to fit the packaging.
It can be used with or without text, we recommend that the text is included for increased clarity. The type of packaging in text is always placed outside the colored field, either under or side by side, whatever works best for the format of the packaging.
Colors
The colors must not be changed since the system has been designed using color categories based on shared attributes. Alternatively, the black and white version can be used. Do not use the symbol on its own, always use the colored or black background.
Name of fraction/packaging
A fraction name (packaging name) has been assigned to each symbol.
- Colored glass packaging
- Clear glass packaging
- Metal packaging
- Paper packaging
- Plastic packaging
Additional text – sorting instructions
To make it easier for consumers to sort correctly, the packaging should have clear sorting instructions.
We recommend:
Sort as [material] packaging, preferably combined with the relevant symbol.
If there is enough space, you should write [material] packaging, i.e. plastic packaging, paper packaging, clear glass packaging, etc.
Packaging made up of multiple components that are easy to separate
If the packaging contains two or more components that can easily be separated, such as a plastic lid on a paper cup, these should be sorted separately. In this case, the sorting instructions for the lid should be written on the paper cup. Example:
The lid is sorted as plastic packaging. The cup is sorted as paper packaging.
If the packaging comprises multiple components of the same type of material, sorting instructions should also be included for that material. Example:
Both the lid and the bottle are sorted as plastic packaging.
All information about the recycling labels and how they can be used is available in EU Pictos guidelines, download them at Sverige Sorterar.
Good examples of packaging labelling
By labeling the packaging with sorting symbols and explanatory text, it becomes easier for the consumer to know what material the packaging is made of and how it should be sorted. The labeling increases the chance that it will be source separated correctly.
Hazardous waste
Packaging whose contents constitute hazardous waste must be marked with the correct hazard symbol, so that it is clear to the user how it should be handled.
Single-use plastic products
Within the EU, there are requirements that mugs that are single-use plastic products must be labeled with a special label to inform the consumer about how the packaging/product should be handled to reduce littering.
Packaging containing single-use plastic products, such as wet wipes, tampons and pads, must also have the label.
Read more in the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency’s guidance.
Recommended sorting instructions
Packaging with an attached plastic cap
We recommend the following sorting instructions for packaging with an attached plastic cap or lid – for example milk cartons or yoghurt packaging:
Sort the packaging as paper packaging. Sort the cap/lid as plastic packaging if it is easy to remove the cap/lid when sorting/at the moment of sorting.
This ensures that the material of the cap or lid is recycled, which does not happen if the cap or lid remains on the packaging during source sorting.
Green Dot – the symbol for paid packaging fee
The Green Dot is an international symbol that shows that the packaging fee has been paid in the country where the packaging or the packaged item is sold. In Sweden, we at Näringslivets Producentansvar are the licensors. The Green Dot is one of the world’s most famous symbols and is currently used by over 30 countries within Europe.
The Green Dot available for download in various formats
EPS
JPG
JPG
Rules for using the Green Dot
In order to be able to use the Green Dot on your packaging, it is required that you as a producer comply with the packaging regulation, that you are affiliated to an approved producer responsibility organisation and that you pay a license fee for the Green Dot. As an affiliated customer to Näringslivets Producentansvar, the license fee for the Green Dot is included in the annual fee you pay to us. You can thus use the symbol without further action.
The conditions for the use of the Green Dot in Sweden appear in our Instructions
How the symbol may be used on packaging is regulated in the design guidelines produced by Pro Europe, you can find them here
If you have products in multiple markets in Europe, you need to ensure the use of licenses in all relevant countries – here you will find information for the license providers in each country
According to the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), packaging placed on the market from 12 August 2028 must be labelled with information on the composition of the packaging material to facilitate sorting of the packaging for consumers. Work is currently underway to develop a common labelling system that will apply throughout the EU. The labelling must include sorting symbols for packaging materials on packaging and on recycling containers. Furthermore, packaging that is reusable or compostable must have specific symbols.
However, the future EU standard for labelling of packaging is not yet finished. We therefore recommend that our affiliated producers use the symbols from the Nordic labelling system to label their packaging until the new symbols are available.
