Milestone as Polytag’s Ecotrace Programme expands to N+P Crayford materials recovery facility
Polytag has extended its Ecotrace programme to N+P Crayford, the UK's largest materials recovery facility (MRF), expanding the reach of what is pitched as the UK's only nationwide plastic packaging tracking network. The addition of Crayford takes the total number of facilities in the programme to 14 UK wide.
Ecotrace combines Polytag's invisible UV tag technology with a nationwide network of detection units installed across strategically selected recycling facilities.
This enables barcode level data to be captured with up to 100% accuracy as plastic moves through the UK's recycling infrastructure, giving brands verified, real-world insight and certainty into where and when their packaging is recovered, via the Polytag platform. The technology is also compatible with enhanced optical sorting systems, creating the potential to combine packaging level traceability with more accurate identification and separation of materials within recycling facilities.
N+P Crayford processes more than 450,000 tonnes of mixed recycling each year and serves over two million households across Greater London and Southern England. Following a site upgrade, the facility now forms a key part of the Ecotrace network, extending its geographical reach into one of the UK's most significant population centres.
The expansion brings the programme’s coverage to almost half of the UK's household recycling stream. Brands signed up to have packaging traced through the site include Ecotrace members Waitrose, Ocado and Kraft Heinz, who will now receive even more representative data to support packaging design, recycling performance and future Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) requirements.
Alice Rackley, CEO at Polytag, comments: “Ecotrace has always been about creating the visibility needed to build a better recycling system. The more of the waste stream we can see, the more valuable the data becomes for brands and retailers making decisions about packaging. Adding N+P Crayford is a significant milestone because it takes us a step closer to a truly national picture of how plastic packaging moves through the UK recycling system.”
“As responsibility for packaging continues to evolve through EPR, better data will be essential. You cannot improve what you cannot measure, and Ecotrace is providing the infrastructure needed to help the industry design better packaging, improve recycling outcomes and ultimately build a more effective circular economy.”
2026 RTIH Innovation Awards
Green retail will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.
Check out our 2025 winners here.
Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”
“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”
He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”
Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.
