PAP 22
The pack is paper. PAP 22 is the thinnest of the three paper codes, after corrugated board (20) and flat board (21).
- Material
- Paper
- Code
- PAP 22
- Family
- Paper and card
- Defined by
- Commission Decision 97/129/EC
Which bin, usually
Usually the paper-and-card or mixed-recycling bin. Shiny or laminated paper is often turned away: the US EPA warns that gift wrap with a shiny or laminated coating often cannot be taken.
Whether this goes in your recycling depends on your local collection; check your council or municipality's sorting guide.
The material
Paper: thin sheet, as opposed to board.
Where you see it
Paper carrier bags, flour and sugar bags, paper wraps and sleeves, tissue paper, leaflets and paper labels.
What it does not mean
PAP 22 does not cover paper with a plastic or foil layer (a composite), and it does not say the paper is uncoated.
PAP names the fibre, not the finish. A PAP code does not tell you whether the board is waxed, laminated, heavily printed or food-soiled, each of which a paper mill or your collection may reject. If the pack is paper bonded to plastic or foil, the correct code is a composite (C/PAP 81 to 84), not PAP 20 to 22.
Other ways it is printed
- PAP under a 22 in a triangle of arrows
- PAP 22, PAP22 or 22 PAP in plain text
Other paper and card codes
Sources
- Commission Decision 97/129/EC of 28 January 1997 establishing the identification system for packaging materials (OJ L 50, 20.2.1997), as adopted — UK National Archives copy (Annex II: Paper, PAP, 22) — checked 2026-09-23
- US EPA: How Do I Recycle Common Recyclables (Paper: gift wrap with a shiny or laminated coating) — checked 2026-09-23
Written in our own words from these public texts and checked on the date shown. ASTM D7611 and ISO 14021 are sold by their publishers; only their public catalogue text is used here.