Opis PetroChem Wire Interview, October 2023
Hot off the presses is a fabulous Recycled Material Standard feature interview from OPIS PetroChem Wire. A news service through the Dow Jones network, OPIS provides traders in plastics and other commodities insight into changing market environments and rising trends like certified recycled material and tradable certificates like ARCs.
The in-depth discussion between Kathy Hall from OPIS and RMS Director, Ross Bergman highlights the comprehensive nature of certification solutions provided by the RMS. From the history of the standard’s development with NSF to using the certification to advance chemical recycling utilization, there are valuable takeaways for anybody working to increase utilization of recycled material.
A topic of particular note is how the RMS can transform sustainability from an aspirational value for a company to a financial incentive. First, by providing all supply chain partners transparency in recycled material usage and validated claims, brands build customer value through trust in sustainable action. Additionally, the ability to trade recycled material claims separate from actual material – via Attribute of Recycled Content certificates – provides growth capital back to recyclers while helping brands accelerate towards recycled material targets.
Recyclers and Consumer Brands alike have been circling the waters on ARC trading, and this interview brings useful insights on their growing value and utility. ARCs are validated evidence of actual material being recycled into a product. With a secure transaction registry and chain of custody auditing through the supply chain, they can’t be double counted. Most importantly, Book & Claim certificates like ARCs are becoming accepted in reporting frameworks as a component of accounting for recycled content. This gives brands a novel tool in addition to sourcing certified PCR to reach their goals and increased value to the recyclers who are making them.
A recycling system that is financially viable will need to meet the needs of the end users, which is mostly the CPG space for the moment. They are increasing demands for certified recycled material and ARCs, so the RMS is the perfect ecosystem for companies to get involved in building the certified material space.
Ross Bergman, Director, Recycled Material Standard
The end of the interview focuses on Mass Balance accounting, while being the only way to trace outputs of chemical recycling, is also applicable to mechanical recycling. Ross details certified RMS recyclers who are using mechanical mass balance across multiple locations to flexibly provide recycled material claims for CPG packaging.
The interview is a must-read for people just learning about certified recycled material or seasoned experts. Make sure to check out the RMS Resource Page for more info on all the topics featured in the interview.