Henkel has expanded its packaging recyclability testing capabilities in Asia-Pacific after its Packaging Recyclab in Shanghai passed an official audit by the cyclos-HTP Institute (CHI).

The accreditation authorizes the Shanghai facility to conduct paper packaging recyclability testing using recognized European methodologies and issue external assessment reports for customers across the region.

For packaging manufacturers, converters and brand owners exporting from Asia-Pacific to Europe, the development provides a local testing option at a time when recyclability requirements are becoming increasingly important under the European Union’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR).

Instead of sending paper packaging samples to laboratories in Europe, companies can now access internationally aligned recyclability testing in Shanghai.

Shanghai Lab Adds Two European Testing Protocols

Henkel Packaging Recyclab Shanghai now applies two European paper packaging recyclability assessment protocols: CEPI/4evergreen and cyclos-HTP Institute methodologies.

The facility forms part of Henkel’s wider Packaging Recyclab network alongside its operation in Düsseldorf, Germany.

It is also integrated into Henkel’s Inspiration Center network, allowing customers to work with technical specialists across different stages of packaging development.

This can include material selection, packaging structure development, testing, recyclability assessment and subsequent optimization.

The significance for Asia-Pacific exporters is primarily geographical.

China and other Asian manufacturing markets supply substantial volumes of packaged consumer and industrial products to Europe. Access to local testing can reduce the logistics involved in sending samples overseas while allowing recyclability considerations to be introduced earlier in product development.

PPWR Makes Packaging Recyclability a Design Issue

The accreditation comes as companies prepare for increasingly detailed requirements under the EU’s PPWR.

The regulation covers areas including packaging recyclability, recycled content, substances of concern, reuse and Extended Producer Responsibility.

For exporters, this means packaging decisions increasingly need to be supported by information about the complete packaging structure rather than the primary substrate alone.

A paper package, for example, may also contain adhesives, coatings, inks, barrier materials and other components that influence how the finished structure behaves during recycling.

This makes design for recyclability different from simply selecting a material commonly considered recyclable.

Testing can provide information about how the complete structure behaves under specified recycling assessment conditions.

Henkel’s Shanghai facility is intended to bring this assessment closer to companies developing packaging in Asia-Pacific.

Local Testing Could Move Assessment Earlier in Development

Traditionally, recyclability assessment can take place relatively late in packaging development, when the structure and materials have already been selected.

That creates potential problems if testing identifies components that negatively affect recyclability.

Changing a coating, adhesive or packaging structure at that stage can require additional development work and another round of testing.

Henkel is positioning the Packaging Recyclab around an earlier approach in which testing and optimization can become part of the development process.

Customers can generate technical data while a packaging structure is still being developed and use the results to identify potential changes.

“PPWR will reshape the competitive landscape of the packaging industry,” said Alejandro Schoenhoff, Vice President, Packaging Adhesives, Henkel Asia Pacific.

He said the CHI accreditation brings European recyclability assessment and testing capabilities closer to Asia-Pacific customers.

Adhesives and Coatings Enter the Recyclability Discussion

The development is also relevant to Henkel’s position as a major supplier of packaging adhesives.

As packaging structures are redesigned around recyclability requirements, converters increasingly have to consider how functional components interact during collection and recycling.

Moving from a multi-material package to a predominantly paper-based structure, for example, does not automatically resolve every recycling issue.

The behaviour of barrier coatings, sealing systems and adhesives can remain important.

This creates a closer relationship between material suppliers, converters, recyclability testing laboratories and brand owners during packaging development.

Yanjie Zheng, Sustainability Manager, Packaging Adhesives, Henkel Asia Pacific, said the company is developing an integrated approach covering packaging design and manufacturing through end-of-life recycling and regulatory considerations.

Plastic Packaging Testing Could Follow

Paper packaging is currently the focus of the Shanghai Packaging Recyclab, but Henkel is preparing to broaden the facility’s capabilities.

Preparatory work is underway to introduce plastic packaging recyclability assessments, with additional export packaging categories expected to be added over time.

Expanding into plastics would considerably broaden the relevance of the laboratory because Asia-Pacific exporters use a wide range of flexible and rigid plastic structures alongside fibre-based packaging.

The laboratory is also expected to generate data on the recycling performance of different packaging structures.

For packaging producers, this could help connect three areas that have historically been treated separately: packaging performance, material selection and end-of-life recyclability.

The Shanghai accreditation therefore represents more than additional laboratory capacity.

It brings recognized European paper packaging recyclability testing closer to one of the world’s largest manufacturing and export regions at a time when demonstrating packaging recyclability is becoming increasingly important for access to the EU market.

Last Updated on 19/08/2026 by Jota Machinery