Polytag’s Ecotrace Programme has been included in TIME’s Best Inventions of 2026, in the Reuse & Recycle category. It is one of 300 innovations on the publication’s annual list. The recognition highlights a system designed to help brands see what happens to their packaging after it has been used.
Ecotrace works by detecting invisible UV tags that brands activate on packaging. As tagged packs pass through recycling facilities equipped with Polytag equipment, the system captures barcode-level data. According to Polytag, the technology uses global open standards and records which tagged packaging reaches those facilities, as well as where and when it is detected.
Built around existing print processes
For packaging manufacturers, printers, converters and ink suppliers, the programme offers a route to embed traceability using specialist fluorescent UV inks and existing printing processes. The tags are invisible to the naked eye and can be added to packaging labels without requiring a fundamental change to established production workflows, Polytag said.
The tags can also carry more information about a pack, including plastic melt flow temperature, the packaging converter or food-grade status. Depending on what data is encoded, Polytag said the system can provide insights at pack-variant or batch level and across defined time periods.
Retail use and EPR evidence
Polytag said the resulting data gives brands and retailers a clearer picture of how packaging performs after use, helping to inform decisions about packaging design, material selection and recyclability. The company also argues that as Extended Producer Responsibility increases accountability for packaging placed on the market, the data can help businesses build a stronger evidence base for packaging performance and recycling outcomes.
The technology is being used by Ocado and Waitrose, with UV-tagged packaging generating data at enabled recycling facilities. Details on the scale of those deployments and quantified recycling outcomes were not disclosed.
Industry reaction
Debbie Waldron-Hoines, consultant CEO at the Flexographic Industry Association, said the TIME inclusion shows the role innovation can play in tackling some of the packaging industry’s biggest challenges. For printers and converters, she said, technologies that connect packaging with data about what happens to it after use could open new opportunities to support brands in assessing packaging performance and informing future design decisions. She added that it was encouraging to see innovation connecting the print and packaging sector with wider conversations about recycling and circularity.
Alice Rackley, chief executive of Polytag, described the TIME recognition as a fantastic endorsement of work across the packaging value chain to make packaging lifecycles more visible. She said bringing together packaging producers, ink specialists, retailers and recycling operators connects expertise from across the industry to bridge the gap between how packaging is designed and what happens to it after use. Rackley added that this collaboration is key to turning better data into better decisions, helping brands design packaging with its end-of-life in mind and supporting progress towards a more circular economy.