Calculated design for sustainability

The producer responsibility organisation Grønt Punkt Norge, together with EGGS, is developing a calculator that will help packaging designers create packaging that is as recyclable as possible. By allowing for automatic calculations and feedback on design decisions, it helps make packaging more easily recyclable.

In 2018, Norway alone consumed 210.000 tonnes of plastic packaging, of which only 33% was recycled (Norwegian Government data). According to Forum for Sirkulaer Plastemballasje, Norway needs to increase the recycling of plastic packaging with about 40 000 tonnes per year to reach the EU goals. This is if the amount of plastic packaging remains stable. If we see the same increase in the coming years as the previous, we need to recycle 62500 tons more in 2025 compared with 2017.

Grønt Punkt Norge is on a mission to help achieve the target with the creation of this easy to use, digital tool.

The recyclability calculator makes calculations based on detailed information about the packaging, that the designers enter into the calculator. It then calculates a score, which is given in % of total recyclability.

Design is the key to efficient recycling

As in other production chains, design holds the key to sustainable packaging solutions. Depending on the choice of material, layering, glue, choice of colours, finishing, the mix of materials, and other variables, a piece of packaging can be either easy, complicated, or impossible to recycle or reuse. Designers know this, but despite this knowledge, it's not always easy for them to make the right choices. It requires information and calculations that are both highly complex and time-consuming.

Facilitates good choices

The recyclability calculator from Grønt Punkt Norge automatically makes these complex calculations. The designers simply input the information of the materials they are planning on using: material type, weight, measurements, etc. The tool then generates a “recyclability score” given in the percentage of total recyclability.

EGGS has helped us balance high granularity of information and good user experience, and how to ask difficult questions that allow users to understand them.

Johannes Daae, Responsible EcoDesign, Grønt Punkt

User-centred UX and UI

Thanks to user-friendly UX and UI design, the tool is easy to use despite the complexity of the calculations. Throughout the process, EGGS and Grønt Punkt Norge have focused on creating a good user experience. We have made prototypes early in the process to ensure a user-centered solution and good frontend design. For the backend, Grønt Punkt Norge partnered up with Prosit, who is responsible for backend logic and localisations.

Throughout the process, we have worked with early and continuous prototyping, to test functionality and user experience.

New version coming up

The current version (officially launched to members on the 14th October 2020) is in beta stage and allows for calculations on packaging and beyond: new materials have already been added, such as metal, corrugated cardboard, cardboard, paper, and glass. A user feedback cycle will run after this. In parallel, the application will be continuously developed to improve the accuracy of calculations and recyclability ratings as well as releasing new features.