In your sales conversations, what’s the moment when a brand “gets it” – that packaging can be a tool for environmental change rather than a disposable by-product?
The pivotal moment often arrives when brands stop viewing cartonboard packaging as merely a container and start recognising it as a statement of their environmental values. This typically happens when they understand that using cartonboard represents a tangible commitment to sustainability that serves dual purposes: protecting their product while simultaneously safeguarding their reputation in an increasingly eco-conscious marketplace, ultimately providing a competitive advantage.
RDM’s cartonboard uses 96% recycled fibres as reported on group level for 2024 and carries rigorous food safety and environmental certifications. How do you translate those technical credentials into simple, persuasive value for UK buyers under pressure on cost and compliance?
Put simply, buyers gain a lower-carbon, fully compliant solution with no trade-off on shelf impact. For those juggling cost and compliance, it’s one supplier tick that solves multiple audit boxes, with no performance trade-off and a story consumers actually trust on-shelf.
When a customer worries that “recycled” means “compromised performance,” how do you address that concern — and what real-world examples best prove high performance can go hand-in-hand with low impact?
Modern recycled cartonboard is closing the gap with virgin material quality across all critical performance metrics: stiffness, printability, and barrier protection. The technology and manufacturing processes have evolved dramatically. Cartonboard fibres can be recycled 25 times while retaining their structural strength and visual quality. Reducing pressure on new resources and carbon emissions associated with it.
Take frozen pizza packaging – if recycled cartonboard successfully protects a fresh pizza through the entire cold chain – from factory to distribution centre, through retail display, and finally to a customer’s doorstep – performance evidently isn’t the compromise. The product arrives intact, the graphics remain vibrant, and the structural integrity holds throughout.
This reframes the conversation entirely: when recycled material performs flawlessly in such demanding applications, continuing to use exclusively virgin material isn’t about quality – it’s simply waste. In that sense we treat recycling as a form of reuse of the fibres that can live many lives.
Recycle Week spotlights collaboration across business, policy, and consumers. From your vantage point, what one change from policymakers would most accelerate industrial paper-to-cartonboard recycling in the UK?
Working directly with the cartonboard supply chain, mandating separate, nationwide food-safe paper and card collections would dramatically accelerate industrial paper-to-cartonboard recycling in the UK
The current system’s fundamental flaw is contamination. Mixed recycling bins compromise feedstock quality, rendering potentially recyclable material unusable for food-contact applications. This instantly destroys the value and re-usability of collected material.
Clear, consistent kerbside separation across all UK councils would be a game changer. It would immediately unlock significant tonnage currently diverted to residual waste simply because contamination makes it unviable for recycling. More importantly, it would provide manufacturers like RDM Group – and indeed the entire sector – with cleaner, higher-yield material that meets the stringent standards required for food-safe packaging.
However, we understand that this is an issue that cannot be put down to policy alone, as multiple factors can render recyclable materials non-recyclable. Hence why we also welcome and remain open to seeing new technologies that work within current systems to reduce contamination issues for paper and cartonboard.
How are UK brand briefs evolving? Are you seeing more requests for recyclability by design, carbon data, or end-of-life claims — and which of these most influences purchasing decisions today?
UK brand briefs are increasingly focused on measurable sustainability outcomes. We’re seeing a clear shift toward recyclability by design. Brands want packaging that meets circular economy targets from the outset. Recyclability has a strong influence on purchasing decisions today, as it directly affects consumer perception and compliance with UK Plastic Pact goals. Requests for carbon data have also grown, driven by Scope 3 reporting and retailer requirements, while end-of-life claims are now expected to be credible and verifiable. As a result, brands are increasingly seeking partners who can combine sustainable materials innovation with transparent data to validate their environmental commitments.
For food and household goods protection, what are the most common trade-offs your customers think they have to make — and how does RDM help them avoid those trade-offs?
Customers in the food and household goods sectors traditionally believe they have to sacrifice performance when choosing environmentally friendly packaging. Many assume recycled packaging means compromised moisture barriers, inadequate grease resistance, or insufficient protection for sensitive products like frozen foods or powdered detergents.
RDM Group’s solutions eliminate these trade-offs. One example is Multiboard barrier, a PE-coated cartonboard that combines 100% recycled fibres and plastics that make up just 3–5% of the overall structure, proven to be recyclable by external evaluation and certification. At the same time, we’re also working on cartonboard with fully biodegradable film. We’re collaborating with Ecopol, a global leader in biodegradable and water-soluble film technologies, to develop an innovative recyclable barrier board. We’re continuously assessing how we can provide products that meet performance requirements while being better for our planet, ensuring customers no longer have to choose between performance and sustainability.
Looking at the full product lifecycle, where do you see the biggest untapped gains: material choices, pack design, collection systems, or consumer behavior — and how is your sales team engaging each of those?
The largest untapped gains lie in collection systems – the UK’s inconsistent infrastructure throttles circularity regardless of material advancements. Our sales team combats this by engaging designers on recyclability, working with brands on carbon reporting, and pushing for industry-wide collection standards, because even perfect packaging fails if it’s not captured.
The consumer end presents a secondary opportunity: while 88% of UK consumers trust that materials will be recycled, this high confidence must be channelled into correct sorting and participation. Clearer on-pack instructions and education campaigns help to close the gap between consumer trust and effective, accurate recycling behaviour, ensuring that captured material is high-quality and truly recyclable.
What KPIs do you personally watch to judge if recycling is turning into responsibility and then into results — for RDM, for your customers, and for the wider circular economy?
I judge success across the circular economy by tracking our material circularity rate, which is the recovered tonnage re-integrated into production as a percentage of our total output. Since RDM Group is a recycler first, I also pay close attention to the UK household recycling capture rates in our sourcing areas, because our feedstock supply depends entirely on effective collection.
For our customers, the key indicator is the repeat purchase rate for recycled-content board, showing market acceptance. Finally, I monitor the year-on-year growth in demand for 100% recycled or barrier-recyclable boards as a sign for the wider economy’s transition. When all four of these measures – our internal efficiency, the quality of our supply, and commercial pull – are trending upward, it signals that responsibility is genuinely turning into results across the entire value chain.
If you could give one practical challenge to UK brands during Recycle Week — a concrete step they can take in the next quarter — what would it be, and how will RDM partner with them to deliver it?
First, audit one major product line for complete recyclability by examining substrates, inks, coatings, and adhesives. Then replace non-recyclable materials with fibre-based or recyclable barrier solutions within one quarter. By focusing on one product line as a pilot, companies can demonstrate rapid progress, build internal momentum, and create a replicable model for broader portfolio transformation. This quarter-long sprint delivers tangible results, builds confidence across procurement and marketing teams, and positions brands as genuine leaders rather than followers in the circular economy transition.
While greening your packaging solutions might seem daunting, it is entirely achievable with the right partnership approach. RDM Group will support brands through every stage: providing technical consultation to identify problem areas, facilitating barrier board trials with Multiboard® Barrier or our 100% recycled cartonboard range, and conducting recyclability testing to ensure compliance with current standards and future regulations like Extended Producer Responsibility and Simpler Recycling.
