Alice on Discord asked whether EPR actually takes pigment into account. The answer is yes, but not as much as you might think. Earlier versions of the assessment, placed much more emphasis on colour, whereas the final PackUK methodology only flags carbon black pigment as a sortation issue. Most other colour-related impacts now sit under the "application" stage, where certain colours can reduce the quality of recycled plastic rather than prevent it from being recycled. There are some material-specific quirks too, like coloured PET bottles being penalised while PET trays aren't, and, perhaps inevitably, there's still plenty of room for debate over what actually counts as "dark blue"!
This episode of Recycled Content, is the 'Rubbish Question' from episode 82 of Talking Rubbish, which first aired on 19th February 2026.
While every effort has been made to provide the most accurate information, recycling guidance changes quickly and some advice may become outdated over time. Always check with your local council for the rules that apply to recycling in your area. On the main Talking Rubbish podcast, we include an additions and corrections section where we update anything we may have got wrong.
These clips come from the weekly show, Talking Rubbish - The Recycling Podcast
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