PCR, PIR and the twenty point gap

Data sheets often merge PCR and PIR into a single recycled content figure. For the PPWR minimum quotas that total is not what counts. There, material from post-consumer plastic waste counts, that is PCR.

PCR stands for post-consumer recyclate: material from waste that has already arisen at the end consumer. PIR means post-industrial recyclate from production waste that never reached the consumer. Both materials can make sense, but in regulatory terms they have to be reported separately.

A simple worked example

A pack contains 30 per cent PIR and 10 per cent PCR. The data sheet quite correctly states a recycled content of 40 per cent. Against the PPWR quota, however, the same pack stands at only 10 per cent, because Article 7 counts post-consumer recyclate alone.

From 2030, or from the later statutory date of application where that applies, the figures are 30 per cent PCR for contact sensitive packaging with PET as the main component, 10 per cent for contact sensitive packaging made of other plastics, 30 per cent for single use beverage bottles and 35 per cent for other plastic packaging. From 2040 these rise to 50, 25, 65 and 65 per cent.

In the example, depending on the packaging category, up to 25 percentage points are missing. Not because too little recyclate is processed, but because the wrong type of recyclate was counted towards the quota.

The error also works the other way round

Anyone who cautiously reports only the share they can prove may leave out material that was paid for and processed long ago. In both cases the same thing is missing: a solid separation of PCR and PIR.

PIR remains a valuable material

PIR itself is not inferior. It is often single grade, well documented and predictable in processing. It does not count towards the PPWR quota. For a precise recycled content claim it can nevertheless be relevant, provided the type is named unambiguously and the share is properly substantiated.

What usable evidence has to deliver

The evidence reports PCR and PIR separately, makes the origin traceable and represents the material flows in a way that can be followed. DIN EN 15343 sets out requirements for the traceability of plastics recyclates, DIN EN ISO 22095 covers chain of custody models.

Recycled and virgin polymer often cannot be told apart on the finished part by analysis alone. The route of the material back to the waste source is therefore examined together with the mass balance over a defined period.

The PPWR calculates the quotas as an average per manufacturing plant and year for the packaging type and format in question. Anyone wanting to use that average therefore needs a solid annual balance, not just a single data sheet.

The decisive question for the supplier

How high is the recycled content, and what part of it comes from post-consumer waste? Anyone unable to give a substantiated answer has a figure, but not yet solid evidence.

flustix RECYCLED therefore states the recyclate type explicitly. Every certificate can be looked up by its licence number in the public database.