For many small Welsh food and drink producers, their greatest asset isn't just the quality of their products- it's their story. The story of where the product comes from, who made it, and the unique heritage of Wales itself. But fitting that story onto a small product label is almost impossible, especially with growing consumer demand for "clean labels" that are clear, honest, and uncluttered. By 2027, traditional 1D barcodes will be replaced by advanced QR codes on most retail products in the UK. These new codes can hold far more information; everything from ingredients and allergens to recycling instructions and detailed brand stories, all accessible through a quick scan on a phone. While large companies are already investing in sophisticated systems to make the most of this change, micro and small businesses (which make up 85% of Welsh food and drink processors) risk being left behind. Existing tools are complex, costly, and designed for enterprises with big IT teams. A new, all-Welsh consortium is tackling this challenge head-on. The project brings together technology experts **Polytag**, advanced design thinking researchers at **AMRC Cymru**, and a group of forward-thinking Welsh food and drink producers spanning North, Mid and South Wales. Together, they are developing an easy-to-use, fully compliant digital platform that will allow small brands to add QR codes to their packaging, unlocking rich, multilingual content that customers can explore anywhere in the world. This innovation will not only help Welsh producers meet new labelling and compliance requirements, but also give them a powerful new way to connect directly with customers, share their story in the customer's own language, and proudly showcase Wales as a world-class food and drink nation.

Local councils across the UK are struggling to meet ambitious recycling targets without knowing what actually happens to packaging after collection. Current recycling systems operate as "black boxes" once materials enter waste facilities, councils lose all visibility, making it impossible to assess if educational campaigns work, identify contamination sources, or optimise collection routes. With 40% of potentially recyclable materials still reaching landfill and statutory requirements of 55% plastic recycling by 2025, councils urgently need better data to transform their waste management strategies. Polytag has developed groundbreaking UV tag detection technology that provides the recycling sector's first real-time, item-level tracking system. The solution works by applying invisible UV-coded tags to plastic packaging during manufacture, creating "digital twins" that can be tracked throughout their lifecycle. Specialised detection equipment installed at recycling facilities captures detailed data on each tagged item, providing unprecedented insights into recycling performance. This technology enables councils to finally answer critical questions: Which educational campaigns actually improve recycling? Where do contamination problems originate? How can collection routes be optimised for better environmental outcomes? Working with Cumberland Council and Cumbria Waste Group, Polytag will conduct an 8-month trial at the Hespin Woods Materials Recovery Facility in Carlisle. This real-world demonstration will prove the technology's effectiveness in operational conditions while providing Cumberland Council with actionable data to support their net zero ambitions by 2030\. The trial will process thousands of tagged items monthly, demonstrating how councils can move from guesswork to evidence-based decision-making in waste management. Success will provide a blueprint for deployment across the UK's material recovery recycling facility (MRF) network. This innovation directly supports the UK's net zero goals by enabling more effective recycling programs. Better data means councils can target interventions where they're most needed, reduce contamination that sends materials to landfill, and prove the environmental impact of their initiatives. The project represents a significant step toward transforming the UK's recycling infrastructure, providing the intelligence needed to optimise material recovery and accelerate progress toward national environmental targets.

Polytag technology not only enables - but also optimises - the plastic packaging circular economy thanks to its collaborative and integrated describe, tag and trace solutions, which offer: * easy data sharing between any stakeholder * unique packaging identification marking technology * full-circle visibility All of this powered by patent-pending technologies that comply with GS1 standards. Recently, Polytag designed and delivered a digital deposit return scheme (DRS) pilot across 300 households in North Wales. The pilot achieved a 97% household engagement rate and excellent feedback from users who found it intuitive, convenient and rewarding. A digital DRS is just one of a range of initiatives that are necessary in order to tackle plastic packaging and enable a circular economy: Plastic packaging contributes to a number of significant environmental and economic challenges for our climate, our oceans, our food chains and local communities. This is why, here in the UK, businesses are facing Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT), the introduction of Deposit Return Schemes (DRS), Environment Social and Governance (ESG) regulation and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) which will disrupt and impact plastic packaging supply chains and require them to adopt circular practices that are more transparent, collaborative and optimised. Collaboration and transparency is the only way to deliver true sustainability. All stakeholders in the single-use packaging circular economy _have to_ collaborate in order to protect Our Planet. With the development of our technology the Polytag team is on a mission to ensure all plastic packaging is recycled and stays in the circular economy. Please get in touch to find out more, or visit our website at www.polytag.co.uk.