In the current environment where sustainable development is receiving increasing attention, PCR (Post-Consumer Recycled) materials have become a new choice for many industries due to their environmental advantages and resource recycling benefits. The compliance level of these materials requires a series of certification systems to provide assurance.
●——◆ Certification Assurance ◆——●
In the current environment where sustainable development is receiving increasing attention, PCR (Post-Consumer Recycled) materials have become a new choice for many industries due to their environmental advantages and resource recycling benefits. The compliance level of these materials requires a series of certification systems to provide assurance.
Next, we will briefly introduce several common PCR material certifications to help you understand these certifications:
● GRS Global Recycled Standard
● RCS Recycled Claim Standard
● UL 2809
● ISO 14021 Standard
● SCS Recycled Content Certification
● EuCertPlast & RecyClass Certification
● ISCC Sustainability and Carbon Certification
● OBP Ocean Certification
● OceanCycle
● GRSGlobal Recycled Standard
GRS is a relatively comprehensive certification system. It not only ensures that products contain a certain proportion of recycled materials but also covers environmental practices and social responsibility standards during the production process, such as labor rights protection, environmental management, and chemical use. It aims to promote resource recycling and sustainable development of the industry.
When the recycled material content in a product is ≥ 20%, the product can apply for this certification; when the content is ≥ 50%, the product can apply to use the GRS label.
● RCSRecycled Claim Standard
The Recycled Claim Standard applies to any product containing at least 5% recycled materials. Every stage of production needs to be certified, starting from the recycling stage and ending with the final seller in subsequent business-to-business transactions. Material collection and material concentration sites must conduct self-declarations, document collection, and on-site visits.
Unlike GRS, RCS mainly verifies the amount of recycled materials used in products and ensures the traceability of these materials throughout the supply chain, without involving the social and environmental standards included in GRS.
When the recycled material content in a product is ≥ 5%, the product can apply for this certification and use the label.
RCS 100%: Recycled material content is above 95%.
RCS Blended: Recycled material content is between 5% and 95%.
● UL 2809
UL 2809 is a verification standard for recycled content provided by Underwriters Laboratories (UL). It evaluates the proportion of recycled materials in products and ensures that products meet their claimed recycled content.
UL 2809 recycled content certification applies to various products, such as plastics (including ocean plastics) and plastic products, paints, electronic products, toys, kitchenware, clothing, and more.
It covers multiple recycled material types, including:
- Pre-consumer recycled content (PIR)
- Post-consumer recycled content (PCR)
- Total recycled content (RC)
- Ocean Plastic Content (OP)
- Ocean-Bound Plastic Content (OBP)
- Chemical Recycling Content
- Closed-loop recycled content (Closed Loop)
- Biomass-based recycled content (Biomass)
● ISO14021 Standard
ISO 14021 refers to “Environmental Labels and Declarations — Self-declared Environmental Claims (Type II Environmental Labelling).” It aims to regulate the use of environmental labels and declarations, especially self-declared environmental labels for products or services.
This standard provides clear definitions, principles, and guidelines for companies when promoting their environmental attributes, ensuring the accuracy, transparency, and credibility of information. Although it is not specifically designed for PCR materials, it can be used for environmental claims of PCR products.
ISO 14021 was originally designed for companies’ self-declared environmental claims. However, in order to gain more recognition from customers and external parties, third-party verification is generally sought.
Common categories of self-declared environmental claims include:
Biodegradable, compostable, designed for disassembly, extended product life, energy recovery, recycled content, recycled materials, reduced energy consumption, reduced resource use, reduced water consumption, reusable, refillable, reduced waste, renewable materials, renewable energy, sustainable, and greenhouse gas emission-related claims such as carbon footprint declarations and carbon neutrality declarations.
● SCS Recycled Content Certification
This certification originated in 1990 and was one of the earliest recycled content certification systems established by SCS in the United States. Based on the definitions of pre-consumer recycled and post-consumer recycled materials in ISO 14021, it promotes the reuse of waste materials, encourages the use of recycled materials and sustainable development, and advocates environmental and natural resource protection.
● EuCertPlast & RecyClass Certification
EuCertPlast certification is a trusted certification for the plastic recycling industry, aiming to promote sustainable and transparent development of the plastic recycling sector. This certification was jointly initiated by European plastic recyclers and industry associations, mainly focusing on the traceability of plastic waste sources and quality control during recycling processes.
In December 2023, EuCertPlast and RecyClass reached an agreement on the future development of plastic recycler certification. In the future, both will be integrated into the RecyClass Recycling Process Certification.
Both standards are based on the European standard EN 15343, focusing on evaluating responsibility throughout the plastic recycling chain, material traceability, and recycling efficiency, ensuring the quality and usability of recycled materials.
● ISCC Sustainability and Carbon Certification
ISCC system certification originated in Germany and was developed as an early standard to meet the requirements of the EU Renewable Energy Directive. It is an international certification that can demonstrate sustainability and greenhouse gas emission reduction of circular materials.
Currently, it is divided into three certification systems:
- ISCC EU
- ISCC PLUS
- ISCC CORSIA
ISCC EU is an international sustainability and carbon footprint certification system designed to ensure that products and supply chains comply with sustainability standards. It is a mandatory certification for entering the EU energy market and applies to various industries, including food, agricultural products, chemicals, and biomaterials. It is also applicable to bioenergy products entering the European Union.
ISCC PLUS：This certification applies not only to biomaterials derived from agricultural and forestry materials but also to various materials such as mixed plastic waste that cannot be recycled through traditional mechanical processes and requires chemical processes for recycling and conversion.
It is mainly divided into three categories:
· Bio Feedstocks： Materials derived from original biomass, including biodegradable parts of products from agriculture, forestry, fisheries, aquaculture, and related industries.
·Circular Feedstocks：Includes bio-circular feedstocks and circular (including technical circular) feedstocks. The former refers to bio-based waste and residues from industries such as agriculture and forestry.The latter refers to feedstocks obtained through mechanical or chemical processing of recyclable materials from non-biological sources (fossil-based materials).
·Renewable Feedstocks: Refers to materials from non-biological sources produced using renewable energy other than biomass, such as wind energy and solar energy.
ISCC CORSIA is a certification mechanism for voluntary sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) under the requirements of the International Aviation Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme (CORSIA). It was approved by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) at the end of 2020. It aims to ensure that the collection, trading, production, and use of SAF feedstocks comply with sustainability and greenhouse gas emission standards.
In addition, plastic waste pollution in oceans is becoming increasingly serious, especially the accumulation of plastic waste in marine environments, which poses a significant threat to marine ecosystems. To address this global issue, a series of standards and certifications specifically targeting ocean plastic recycling have been introduced internationally.
● OBP Ocean Certification
OBP海洋塑料认证计划是由非官方组织Zero Plastic Oceans和世优Control Union共同开发的，目的是保护海洋免受陆地活动中海洋附着塑料(OBP)的持续泄漏。
OBP认证计划旨在通过增加有效收集和处理海洋塑料的价值，鼓励从环境中避免出现这些塑料。
OBP认证涵盖了商业回收和非商业回收的海洋塑料。它不仅关注塑料的回收和再利用，还重视在源头上减少塑料进入海洋的数量。计划旨在推动产业界和社会共同努力，解决塑料污染问题，特别是那些已经流入海洋的塑料废弃物。
The OBP Ocean Plastic Certification Program was jointly developed by the non-governmental organization Zero Plastic Oceans and Control Union. Its purpose is to protect oceans from the continuous leakage of Ocean-Bound Plastic (OBP) from land-based activities.
The OBP certification program aims to encourage the avoidance of these plastics entering the environment by increasing the value of effective collection and processing of ocean-bound plastics.
OBP certification covers both commercial and non-commercial recovery of ocean-bound plastics. It not only focuses on plastic recycling and reuse but also emphasizes reducing the amount of plastic entering oceans at the source. The program aims to promote joint efforts from industries and society to address plastic pollution issues, especially plastic waste that has already entered marine environments.
● OceanCycle
Oceancycle 是一个旨在推动全球海洋塑料回收与再利用的品牌或项目名称，通常涉及从海洋中回收塑料废料并将其转化为可持续的产品或材料。这种回收机制不仅着眼于清理海洋塑料垃圾，还关注通过创新设计和生产方式将其转化为具有市场价值的可用资源。
Oceancycle通常作为一种商业模式或可持续发展倡议，结合了环境保护与经济效益。
OceanCycle is a brand or project name aimed at promoting global ocean plastic recycling and reuse. It usually involves collecting plastic waste from oceans and transforming it into sustainable products or materials. This recycling mechanism not only focuses on cleaning marine plastic waste but also emphasizes transforming it into valuable resources through innovative design and production methods.
OceanCycle is usually used as a business model or sustainable development initiative, combining environmental protection with economic benefits.
