Companies can apply as Members or Supporters of RecyClass by filling in the respective Application Form. The forms can be found via the following page:
Additionally, companies or organisations applying to become Supporters must provide a Letter of Intent to the attention of the RecyClass Steering Board describing which kind of support will be offered to RecyClass.
Any organisation, which is not directly involved in plastic manufacturing, transformation, or distribution can join as a Supporter. Raw material producers, converters, brand owners, retailers are invited to join as Members. More information on the differentiation between the two can be found in the RecyClass Membership Brochure and the Internal Rules, available on the following webpage:
RecyClass membership is divided in three levels – Bronze, Gold and Platinum. The annual fees amount to €3,000, €5,000, and €10,000, respectively.
To access the Online Tool, users are asked to make a registration via the following page:
The Tool is free and will allow you to self-assess the recyclability of your packaging. If you are having issues with account registration or verification, please contact us.
A Technology Approval is granted to packaging technologies that undergo standardised evaluation via RecyClass Recyclability Evaluation Protocols. This Approval states to what extent the innovative technology is compatible with the state-of-the-art recycling processes of a given plastic waste stream.
This type of assessment is suitable for packaging features which are not listed within the RecyClass Design for Recycling Guidelines.
An Approval is issued only for testing that follows RecyClass Protocols and that is performed by an independent, recognised testing facility.
The first step is to contact the RecyClass team at info@recyclass.eu. We will evaluate with you the submitted packaging and give you some guidance on the approval relevance. Please find below a schematic view of the process.
Detailed information on the Approval Quality Management & Procedures can be found on the Approvals webpage.
An application fee of €2,500 is charged by RecyClass. In addition, the Recognised Laboratories individually provide the applicants with a quote for the given sample testing.
RecyClass Members are offered discounts on the management fee – for more information, consult the Membership Brochure.
A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is signed by all parties involved in the assessment process, guaranteeing confidentiality on all information related to your packaging.
RecyClass provides an NDA template to support you.
Applicants can choose amongst the Recognised Laboratories by RecyClass, in accordance with the type of packaging that is to be tested. Please be aware, that not all the Recognised Laboratories are able to evaluate all types of packaging.
The quantity of samples that must be provided to the laboratory depends on the type of packaging and is specified in the RecyClass Recyclability Evaluation Protocols:
These figures are the minimum quantities recommended by RecyClass. The laboratory will communicate the necessary amount in order to carry out the tests.
Within the scope of a Technology Approval, you may be asked to additionally perform a sorting test with the RecyClass Sorting Protocol. This step is necessary if your packaging is designed with at least one of the features reported in the Recyclability Methodology – Sorting section.
In this case, additional costs will be incurred, and the Technical Committee will inform the applicant prior to the start of the testing process.
RecyClass members benefit from a special quotation in the Recognised Laboratories that perform the Recyclability Evaluation Protocol.
In addition, Platinum membership covers the cost of one application fee (€2,500) per year.
A Technology Approval evaluates an innovative packaging, containing characteristics not covered yet in RecyClass Design for Recycling Guidelines. This kind of approval leads to lab testing, as described above, and to official recognition by RecyClass (approval letter).
If all the characteristics of your packaging are already covered by the Guidelines, you are eligible for the Recyclability Certification. This certification allows you to label your packaging with the logo of the corresponding final ranking (from A to C) and to communicate about your product’s recyclability, in accordance with the set Guidelines.
A certificate is obtained via a third-party audit, carried out by one of the recognised Certification Bodies. Detailed steps of the process are described here.
There are three different certifications under RecyClass Recyclability Certification scheme:
Scope: EU27+3 (UK, Norway & Switzerland)
Scope: EU27+3 (UK, Norway & Switzerland)
Scope: Country-specific in the EU27+3 (UK, Norway & Switzerland)
The cost of the audit is set individually by the Certification Bodies. In addition, a management fee of 150€ minimum is charged by RecyClass per certificate issued.
RecyClass Members are offered discounts on the management fee – for more information, consult the Membership Brochure.
There is no maximum number of packaging that can be covered by one certificate.
As long as the packaging is “equivalent” to the master packaging, meaning that they have the same material composition, the same shape, and the decorations (inks, labels, etc.) kept in the same proportions, they can be covered by the same certificate. They can only change in sizes, colours, artworks and commercial names.
The auditor will check the list of packaging and their features before the beginning of the audit to adjust the quotation and the provisional timeline to issue the certificate.
The list of recognised Certification Bodies is available on the website. Interested companies can choose freely among these for the Letter Of Compatibility and the Design for Recycling certifications.
For the Recyclability Certification (country-specific), it is necessary to select a Certification Body that has the knowledge of the state of collection, sorting, and recycling activities locally, in the targeted country.
At least 10 samples must be sent to the auditor. Please note that additional samples can be requested if needed. The auditor will guide you on this step.
Additional tests can be requested by the auditor. Specifically, a sorting test is requested if your packaging possesses at least one of the features reported in the Recyclability Methodology – Sorting section.
A washing test can be requested to verify that the adhesive and the label are easily removable from the packaging and/or to verify that printing ink does not bleed.
If any additional tests are required to perform the certification, the auditor will always inform the applicant first.
You will receive the RecyClass certification logo reporting the recyclability class achieved by your packaging in case of a positive evaluation (from A to C), the associated certificate and the Audit Report. In case of a negative evaluation, a certificate of non-compliance will be issued.
More information can be found in the Use of Claims Guidance.
The terms of use for the certification mark are detailed in the Quality Management and Procedures. For more information about how to use the certification mark and make claims in a transparent and reliable way, consult the Use of Claims Guidance.
The RecyClass Online Tool provides a preliminary result of a packaging potential recyclability, it is an indication. Therefore, a positive self-assessment result cannot be used to claim recyclability. This self-assessment must be followed by an application for a Recyclability Certification issued by a third-party Certification Body to allow claims.
A RecyClass Recycling Process certificate can be issued to plastic recyclers receiving plastic input waste and producing recycled output. Both pre-consumer and post-consumer waste can be accounted for in the certificate. Recyclers must have in place a waste management permit in place, a permit derogation according to Article 20 of the Waste Framework Directive, or an operating license or environmental license with specific provisions on treatment of waste.
Certificates are issued via third-party audit carried out by one of the recognised Certification Bodies. Detailed steps of the process are described here.
The cost of the audit is set individually and independently by recognised Certification Bodies. The costs take into account the complexity of the site and process audited, as well as the number and variability of recycled outputs. In addition, a management fee per audit of €150 is charged by RecyClass.
RecyClass Members are offered discounts on the management fee – for more information, consult the Membership Brochure.
The list of recognised Certification Bodies is available on the website. Please note that recognised Certification Bodies may work with external auditors which are also listed on the page. Applicants can choose freely among these.
Recyclers based outside of the EU27 + 3 can obtain certification as long as they fulfil the additional requirements of Module C: Corporate Social Responsibility. Certifications under requirement C.1.2 must be recognised by RecyClass.
Specific requirements apply in the case of Module A for companies located outside of the EU27+3.
The Recycling Process Certification is composed of the general requirements:
The different modules are an addition to the General requirements. This means that a company cannot apply for one of the Modules only but must also fulfil the General requirements.
More information on the different modules can be found here.
Module A focuses on food contact recycling operations as described in Regulation (EU) 2022/1616 on recycled plastics materials and articles intended to come into contact with food. It is split between Module A1 and A2, focusing on requirements for final pre-processing operations and requirements for the decontamination process, respectively.
Module A1 can be issued to a recycler doing a final pre-processing operation (plastic recycling steps prior to the decontamination process) and using or selling their recycled output as a plastic input to a decontamination process.
Module A cannot guarantee compliance with requirements of Regulation (EU) 2022/1616, nor food safety of a decontaminated recycled output. RecyClass does not perform any safety tests on the output.
Currently, RecyClass only recognises EuCertPlast certificates as equivalent to RecyClass Recycling Process Scheme.
Please send an email to info@recyclass.eu to request the evaluation of an additional audit scheme for recognition as equivalent to the RecyClass Recycling Process.
The terms of use for the certification mark are detailed in the Quality Management and Procedures. The Recycling Process certification mark can be used in business-to-business communications. For more information about how to use the certification mark and make claims in a transparent and reliable way, consult the Use of Claims Guidance.
Recycling Process Certification focuses on the certification of pre-consumer and post-consumer recycling processes receiving an input plastic waste and producing a recycled output. The Recycling Process Certification is the point of origin for the chain of custody of recycled plastics. This implies that recyclers supplying material to a company interested in carrying out Recycled Plastics Traceability Certification must be certified under RecyClass Recycling Process Certification (or an equivalent).
While, the Recycled Plastics Traceability Certification focuses on the traceability of materials along the value chain and the subsequent calculation of recycled content in products. This includes all operations that receive a recycled output or a product containing recycled plastics. Examples include compounding, converting, production or trading operations. Please note that this list is not exhaustive.
Certificates are issued, via third-party audit carried out by one of the recognised Certification Bodies. Detailed steps of the process are described here.
The calculation of the recycled content is explained on the following webpage:
The calculation follows the method described in the European standard EN 15343:2007 Plastics Recycling. Recycled plastics traceability, assessment of conformity and recycled content.
The cost of audit is set individually by the Certification Bodies. In addition, a management fee of €150 is charged by RecyClass. RecyClass Members are offered discounts on the management fee – for more information, consult the Membership Brochure.
The list of recognised Certification Bodies is available on the website. Please note that recognised Certification Bodies may work with external auditors which are also listed on the page. Applicants can choose freely among these.
The terms of use for the certification mark are detailed in the Quality Management and Procedures. The Recycled Plastics Traceability certification mark can be used in Business-to-Business and Business-to-Consumer communications. For more information about how to use the certification mark and make claims in a transparent and reliable way, consult the Use of Claims Guidance.
Applicants for the RecyClass Recycled Plastic Traceability Certification must have certified recycled input. Namely, the suppliers of recycled material must be certified under the RecyClass Recycling Process Certification or an equivalent scheme recognised by RecyClass.
For detailed requirements, check out the Certification Documentation.