Polytag's Ecotrace Programme has been named one of TIME's Best Inventions of 2026, appearing in the Reuse & Recycle category of a list that features 300 innovations. The programme is intended to give brands a clearer view of what happens to their packaging once it has been used.
At the centre of the scheme are invisible ultraviolet tags that brands activate on their packaging. Polytag equipment detects those tags as packs pass through recycling facilities, capturing barcode-level proof that a given item reached a facility, along with where and when it was detected. The company says the technology operates on global open standards.
Built on existing print processes
For packaging manufacturers, printers, converters and ink suppliers, the approach is meant to add traceability without a fundamental change to established production workflows. The tags are applied using specialist fluorescent UV inks and can be incorporated into packaging labels while remaining invisible to the naked eye.
The markers can also carry additional information about a pack, such as its plastic melt flow temperature, the converter that produced it or its food-grade status. Depending on what is encoded, Polytag says the data can provide insight at pack-variant or batch level and across defined time periods.
Data for design and compliance
According to Polytag, that information gives brands and retailers a clearer picture of how packaging performs after use, which can inform decisions on 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 already in use with Ocado and Waitrose, where UV-tagged packaging generates data at enabled recycling facilities.
Industry reaction
Debbie Waldron-Hoines, consultant chief executive at the Flexographic Industry Association, said the TIME recognition illustrates the part innovation can play in tackling some of the packaging industry's biggest challenges. For printers and converters, she said, technologies that link packaging to data about its fate after use could open up new opportunities to help brands assess packaging performance and shape future design decisions, and she welcomed innovation that connects the print and packaging sector with wider discussion of recycling and circularity.
Alice Rackley, chief executive of Polytag, described the listing as an endorsement of work across the packaging value chain to make packaging lifecycles more visible. She said the programme brings together packaging producers, ink specialists, retailers and recycling operators, linking expertise to close the gap between how packaging is designed and what happens to it after use. That collaboration, she added, is central 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.