Is “Recyclable” still allowed under EU law?
Only with evidence. This term is restricted rather than banned outright — it is lawful when the specific claim behind it is substantiated and stated on the same page.
How common is it?
We found this term in a flagged claim on 32 of the 680 websites we have scanned — 4.7%.
- sites affected
- 32
- times flagged
- 65
- flagged at highest severity
- 23
Why it is a problem
Prohibited when the product is not actually recyclable in practice for a significant proportion of consumers. Must reflect real-world recycling infrastructure.
What to write instead
Be specific, e.g. "Packaging is widely recyclable — accepted by 90% of EU municipal recycling programmes (HDPE #2)."
The legal basis
Directive (EU) 2024/825 — the Empowering Consumers Directive — adds environmental claims to the Annex I blacklist of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive. It applies across the EU from 27 September 2026, with no transition period. Penalties reach 4% of annual turnover in the member state concerned.
Check whether your own site uses this term
Paste your URL and see every environmental claim on your pages checked against all 82 restricted terms. The first check is free and needs no account.
Figures come from EcoClaim's own scan corpus, last updated 2026-08-22. It is a self-selected sample — sites run through our public checker, not a random sample of EU commerce.