Build a package component by component and see how it scores against APR and How2Recycle recyclability logic, plus where it lands in each active U.S. EPR state. California's determination is read from the SB 54 CMC list and Oregon from its statewide collection list. Colorado classifies covered materials on its Minimum Recyclable List and Additional Materials List, which the rater does not yet read, and the other active states have not finalized material-level determinations, so the rater says so. This is a planning estimate, not a compliance or on-pack-claim determination.
Score the package as sold. If the consumer discards the pump attached, it is part of the package. Mark a component consumer-separable only if separation is realistic.
Every component is tested on its base material stream, NIR detectability (carbon black is invisible to sorters), size (items under about 2 inches in two dimensions fall through MRF screens), separability of labels, closures, and pumps, and contamination from barriers, metal parts, or PVC. A disqualifying feature on the primary component, or a non-separable contaminating component (PVC, PETG, multi-material laminate, or a carbon-black sleeve), caps the whole package, because one such feature is enough to send the assembly to residue at the sort. A component that is genuinely consumer-separable is judged on its own, but its weight still counts against the package's recyclable-weight share.
The composite score weights four things: the primary component's material stream (35 percent), the package's APR status (25 percent), the count of flagged detractors (20 percent), and the effective recyclable weight share (20 percent; fully recyclable weight counts in full, conditional check-locally or drop-off weight counts at half, non-recyclable weight counts zero). Two caps apply before the 5-point refill bonus: a package with a disqualifier cannot score above 40, and a package with more than 30 percent of its weight in non-recyclable components cannot score above 55, so a good primary material cannot mask non-recyclable components.
Metal decoration is treated by amount and type. Per APR, solid metal foil generally renders a package non-recyclable, because metal detectors in the sort reject it. Metallic ink, metallized transfer, and metallized film are Preferred for metal sorting when they cover no more than APR’s pre-tested areas (310 cm² for metallic ink and metallized transfer, 194 cm² for metallized film); above those areas APR requires its SORT-S-03 test, so the rater moves the package to Requires Testing; until it is tested, or if it fails, APR categorizes the package as Non-Recyclable. Separately, APR requires testing for a label or sleeve covering more than 75 percent of the container’s side wall and shoulder (55 percent for containers of 550 ml or less), because coverage can affect NIR and color sorting, unless on PET the label is a perforated crystallizable PET sleeve of 50 microns or less, which APR also treats as Preferred. These thresholds come from the APR Design Guide (PET, HDPE, and PP rigid guidance) and APR’s Metal Decoration Resource, RES-SORT-03b (Version 3, August 30, 2024).
Recyclable weight share is the share of package weight in components that fully recycle. In the score, conditional weight counts at half, and the share works alongside the primary component's material stream, the package's APR status, and the count of detractors. The state panel then maps the primary material to each state's determination: California from the SB 54 CMC list, Oregon from its Uniform Statewide Collection List, and the remaining active states shown as pending with the national APR read as guidance.
What did the rater get wrong, and what is missing? Wrong verdicts, absent materials or formats, confusing outputs, feature ideas: all of it helps.
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