From waste to a new product: can you trace the material?
Traceability underpins reliable information about the origin and content of recycled plastics
This category brings together recycling processes, material data, quantity balances, PCR/PreCR, controlled blending and the downstream chain of custody.
From material origin to product claims
Common questions about recycled plastics and quantity balances
Good traceability makes it possible to reconstruct a material's history
Quality, standards and advanced traceability models
FROM DATA TO CLAIMS
Recycled content must be traceable to actual data
Reliable traceability does not come from a single spreadsheet. It depends on consistency between suppliers, storage, formulations, production, quantity balances and sales documentation.
SUPPLIER AND CERTIFICATE
Input material should be linked to the relevant supplier, purchase document, site and a valid certificate covering that material.
WAREHOUSE
Batch numbers, labels, silos, big bags, separate storage zones or an ERP system should maintain the link between the physical material and its documentation.
FORMULATION AND PRODUCTION
The declared recycled content should follow from actual formulations, dosing and production data, rather than only a nominal value in a specification.
PCR AND PRECR
Post-consumer and pre-consumer material should be distinguishable where the scheme or claim requires their shares to be reported separately.
BALANCE AND RELIABILITY
Purchases, inventories, consumption, losses, waste and production must form a logical balance. Any discrepancy should be explainable through evidence.
INTERNAL REGRIND
Internal regrind, start-up waste or material returned to a process does not automatically increase recycled content. Origin and maintained traceability matter.
RELATED AREAS
From material data to the appropriate scheme
Traceability works differently at a recycling facility and at a company using certified recycled plastics.
Need to organise your material and data flows?
Explore the relevant RecyClass scheme or contact Almaland.