01 RECYCLED-CONTENT CLAIM EVIDENCE
Packaging-film recycled content: separate controlled blending, mass balance and claim evidence
A recycled-content percentage is not comparable until the buyer knows what product or packaging part it describes, which recycled-input category and chain-of-custody model apply, how the percentage was calculated, which site and period are in scope, and what document permits the exact claim wording. Keep a controlled-blending product percentage, a mass-balance allocation, a certificate and a legal technical file as separate evidence records.
02 DECISION FRAME
One percentage can represent different products, accounting models and claim rights
Regulation (EU) 2025/40 Article 7 uses a market-specific legal object: the plastic part of packaging, post-consumer plastic waste, packaging type and format, a manufacturing-plant and year average, technical information and prescribed calculation and verification work. ISO 14021:2026 addresses self-declared environmental claims, while ISO 22095:2020 supplies chain-of-custody terminology but explicitly says it cannot support a product claim on its own. ISO 22095-2:2026 then addresses the mass-balance model, including system boundaries, conversion factors, attribution and communication. A comparable RFQ must identify which evidence route is actually being offered.
- A packaging-film buyer comparing PCR, PIR, recycled-plastic or circular-feedstock statements from different offers
- A converter or brand owner deciding whether a stated percentage is product-level controlled blending, mass-balance allocation or another declared basis
- A procurement team tracing a claim from certificate and transaction documents to one identified grade, lot, roll, plastic layer or packaging part
- That the same percentage has the same numerator, denominator, site, period, product scope or chain-of-custody meaning
- That a company or site certificate automatically covers every supplier, grade, lot, roll, transaction or downstream claim
- That recycled content proves recyclability, food-contact suitability, barrier, sealing, optical quality, mechanical performance or legal compliance
03 COMPARISON MAP
Keep the claim object, custody model, calculation and document chain together
The buyer can compare two offers only when the material flow, attributed characteristic, calculation boundary and permitted claim remain attached to the same controlled record.
Swipe or scroll horizontally to review every evidence column.
| Decision record | What must be identified | Evidence to retain | Invalid shortcut |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claim object | Exact resin, film grade, layer, plastic part, packaging unit, batch, lot, roll or plant-and-year average | Product and packaging identity, construction, supplier and site, period, market and claim purpose | Moving one percentage between a resin, film, layer, roll and complete package |
| Recycled-input category | Supplier- and scheme-defined post-consumer, pre-consumer or other eligible input category and recycling route | Controlled definition, input source, recycler or upstream document, revision and exclusions | Treating PCR, PIR, recycled, circular and biobased as interchangeable labels |
| Chain-of-custody model | Physical segregation, controlled blending, mass balance or another named model under the approved scheme | Scheme and version, certified organization and site, model, system boundary and transaction evidence | Presenting a mass-balance allocation as an unqualified physical-content statement |
| Calculation boundary | Eligible input, output, product group, site, geography, period, losses, conversion factors, allocation and denominator | Input-output ledger, calculation record, reconciliation, responsible owner and approved deviation | Comparing percentages that use different boundaries or accounting periods |
| Certificate and document chain | Certificate holder, site, scope, validity, certification body, transaction or sustainability declaration and lot linkage | Current certificate, scope annex, status check, delivery documents, invoice or COA references and change notices | Using a logo, expired certificate or upstream certificate as product-level proof |
| Claim and release decision | Exact wording, percentage basis, channel, destination market, legal or scheme review and buyer acceptance owner | Approved wording, substantiation file, restrictions, review date, release record and revalidation triggers | Turning traceability evidence into recyclability, food-contact, performance or universal compliance |
04 SELECTION SEQUENCE
Move from a broad comparison to an approvable decision.
Freeze the exact claim object
Identify the resin, film, layer, plastic packaging part or complete packaging unit, plus grade, batch, lot, roll, site, period, market and intended claim channel. Do not begin from an isolated percentage.
Name the custody and calculation model
Record physical segregation, controlled blending, mass balance or another approved model exactly as the current scheme defines it. Keep eligible input, output, losses, conversion factors, attribution and denominator visible.
Release only the supported wording
Trace the certificate, site scope and transaction documents to the proposed product statement. Send recyclability, food contact, film performance and market-specific legal conclusions to their own approval owners.
05 RFQ INPUTS
Packaging-film recycled-content evidence RFQ checklist
Use exactly these fields to compare the offered claim basis. Unknown categories, percentages and legal conclusions remain open for the supplier, scheme owner, certification body and responsible market reviewer.
Open the RFQ brief builder ↗- 01
Packed product, target market, packaging format and the procurement or claim decision this evidence must support
- 02
Exact resin, film grade or candidate code, layer construction, plastic part and complete packaging-unit relationship
- 03
Claim object: material, film, layer, packaging part, batch, lot, roll, product group or manufacturing-plant and year average
- 04
Producer, converter, trader, certificate holder, manufacturing site and other organizations in the evidence chain
- 05
Recycled-input terminology and controlled definitions, including the stated post-consumer, pre-consumer or other category
- 06
Recycling route, input-material origin, recycler or upstream source and the document that establishes eligibility
- 07
Chain-of-custody model: physical segregation, controlled blending, mass balance or another named approved route
- 08
Scheme, standard or legal method, current version, licence or procedure owner and any approved deviation
- 09
Eligible input quantity and unit, attributed characteristic, incoming declaration and receiving-period record
- 10
Output product, grade, batch, lot or roll quantity and its traceable allocation or blending record
- 11
System boundary: site, process, geography, product group, accounting period and opening or closing inventory basis
- 12
Conversion factors, process losses, co-products, transfers, returns and reconciliation method exactly as approved
- 13
Numerator, denominator, percentage expression, rounding, calculation record and responsible calculation owner
- 14
Certificate number, holder, site, scope, certification body, issue and expiry dates and current status check
- 15
Transaction, sustainability or product declaration plus purchase order, invoice, delivery, COA or lot references
- 16
Exact proposed claim wording, percentage basis, label or document channel, destination market and intended audience
- 17
Separate recyclability, food-contact, barrier, sealing, optical, mechanical, quality and application evidence owners
- 18
Buyer acceptance owner, legal or scheme reviewer, release date, unresolved gaps and every change or revalidation trigger
06 EVIDENCE BOUNDARY
A custody model or certificate is not an unrestricted product claim
Regulation (EU) 2025/40 Article 7 defines future market-specific recycled-content requirements for plastic parts of packaging using post-consumer plastic waste, packaging type and format, a manufacturing-plant and year average, technical information and calculation and verification work. Article 7(8) directs the Commission to establish the calculation, verification and technical-document format by implementing acts; this guide supplies no interpretation of those future acts or compliance result. ISO 14021:2026 covers the qualification, documentation and methodology of self-declared product claims. ISO 22095:2020, read together with published Amendment 1:2026, provides chain-of-custody terminology and says that it is not, on its own, able to support claims about an organization's materials or products. ISO 22095-2:2026 addresses mass-balance system boundaries, conversion factors, attribution methods, transparency and communication. RecyClass's Recycled Plastics Traceability Certification describes a controlled-blending scheme and product-percentage evidence under its own scope. ISCC PLUS 203-2 v1.1 defines physical segregation, controlled blending and mass balance, including certified and non-certified material that may be physically mixed while sustainability characteristics remain controlled through scheme bookkeeping. ISCC's support notice says v1.1 is valid from 13 November 2025 and mandatory from 1 January 2027, while chapter 9.4 of the previous ISCC PLUS System Document remains valid through 31 December 2026; the applicable scheme version must therefore be recorded. These legal, standard and private-scheme routes are not interchangeable. This page reproduces no paid procedure and supplies no fixed percentage, formula, allocation, certificate interpretation, audit decision, legal opinion, target, limit, pass/fail rule or operating instruction. It establishes no LayerSource recycled, PCR, PIR, circular, controlled-blending or mass-balance film, grade, percentage, traceability, scheme, certificate, audit, calculation, compliance, testing, manufacturing or supply capability. The buyer, supplier, packaging owner, scheme owner, certification body and responsible market reviewer must approve the applicable model, evidence scope, calculation and exact claim wording for the identified product and market.
07 BUYER QUESTIONS
Resolve the assumptions that make quotes diverge.
01Does a recycled-content percentage automatically apply to each delivered roll?+
No. First identify whether the statement applies to a resin, film grade, layer, batch, lot, roll, product group, packaging part or a site-and-period average. Preserve the chain-of-custody and calculation basis instead of converting it into a per-roll claim.
02Is mass balance the same as a controlled-blending product percentage?+
No. They are different chain-of-custody models. A mass-balance route attributes specified characteristics under defined system and bookkeeping boundaries; a controlled-blending scheme follows its own product-percentage and traceability rules. Use the current approved scheme wording.
03Does ISO 22095 certify a recycled-content product claim?+
No. ISO's public abstract says ISO 22095 can improve chain-of-custody transparency but is not intended to make or verify a claim on its own. The applicable scheme, evidence and claim review still have to be identified.
04Does a supplier or site certificate cover every grade and transaction?+
Not automatically. Check the certificate holder, site, scope, model, validity and status, then trace the relevant transaction or sustainability declaration and product records to the exact offered grade, lot or roll.
05Does recycled-content evidence prove recyclability or food-contact suitability?+
No. Recyclability depends on the complete packaging unit and target system. Food-contact suitability depends on the exact article, use and applicable authorization and documentation. Film quality and performance also require separate evidence.
06Can a PPWR percentage be copied into every packaging-film RFQ?+
No. Article 7 has its own packaging, market, timing, exception, calculation, verification and technical-information scope. The responsible legal owner must confirm current applicability; this guide neither selects a target nor gives a compliance opinion.