How much recycled content actually goes into a given product? That’s not always easy to ascertain, especially with plastics. Recyclables go through multiple manufacturing steps and, along the way, typically get mixed with fossil-based feedstock. This complicated supply chain scenario is putting heat on brands called on to meet minimal recycled content requirements and to answer to consumers who demand transparency.
Enter mass balance, a certified protocol that’s a way to precisely measure material inputs and outputs during production, allowing brands to stand behind their recycled content claims.
Ross Bergman, Director, Recycled Material Standard for nonprofit GreenBlue, dives deeper into mass balance and what suppliers and brands would want to know about it.
Mass balance has been proven to help kick start markets where the amount of sustainable materials is initially low and a percentage-based claim may be challenging to achieve. This is one of the reasons why mass balance is necessary for chemically recycled plastics.
-Ross Bergman, Director, Recycled Material Standard