Recycled content (PCR / PIR)
PCR (post-consumer recycled) material comes from packaging and products that have reached consumers and become waste; PIR (post-industrial recycled) comes from production scrap and trimmings. Rules such as the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) and brand pledges are setting minimum PCR shares in packaging. Recycled-content claims should be verified with certification such as GRS, RecyClass, EuCertPlast or ISCC PLUS (mass balance); food-contact rPET additionally needs an approved super-clean process.
Related terms
Prime, wide-spec and off-grade polymer
Prime material is original product sold under the producer’s brand and grade number, meeting every value in the TDS. Wide-spec is production in which one or more values – e.g. MFI or colour – fall outside the narrow range but remain usable; off-grade may be transition production, sweepings or contaminated material and is usually sold unbranded and without a COA. Off-grade is cheaper but varies from lot to lot, so samples must be tested and “as is” terms and claim rights made clear.
Traceability (supply-chain transparency)
The ability to document, at every stage from source – mine, farm, forest or refinery – to end user, who processed a raw material, where, and from which lot. It is becoming mandatory in raw material trade because of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), OECD guidance on conflict minerals and recycled-content claims such as ISCC or GRS. Geolocation data, mass balance and digital product passports are key concepts here.
Food-contact compliance (EU 10/2011, FDA)
Evidence that plastics used for food packaging and equipment do not transfer substances into food above permitted limits. In the EU the framework Regulation 1935/2004 and, for plastics, Regulation 10/2011 apply – a positive list of substances plus overall and specific migration limits; in the USA, FDA 21 CFR Part 177. Buyers should request the supplier’s declaration of compliance (DoC) covering additives and, where needed, migration test reports; recycled plastics are also subject to Regulation (EU) 2022/1616.