Recycled Content in Plastic Containers: PCR, PIR and Mass Balance

PCR and PIR identify the material's earlier life

PCR refers to post-consumer recyclate; PIR to post-industrial recyclate. The SIS catalogue's public scope for CEN/TR 18160:2025 discusses pre-consumer/post-industrial material under PIR and distinguishes it from post-consumer recyclate. Ask which definition and recovered feedstock category the supplier uses; a short acronym does not identify the documented waste stream.

The US FTC Green Guides also distinguish pre-consumer from post-consumer material. Section 260.13 requires support that pre-consumer input would otherwise have entered the waste stream; its first example excludes scraps normally reused in the original process. A molding scrap or regrind description alone therefore does not settle a recycled-content claim. Confirm the applicable claim rules for the destination market rather than treating a US guide or one certification system as a universal definition.

Separate physical content from a mass-balance allocation

RecyClass describes controlled blending as physical traceability with a known recycled-plastic percentage. ISCC explains mass balance as accounting for certified input physically received, process losses and outputs, with safeguards against double counting. Mass balance is not simply a claim with no material entering the supply chain.

Under ISCC, a rolling-average method expresses an average certified share across outputs over a period; a credit method attributes credits to specified outputs. Identify the method and scope. An allocated percentage is not automatically a measured physical fraction in each container, nor proof of zero recycled material.

Keep the supplier's exact permitted claim wording with the quotation. Terms such as circular, bio-circular and recycled need their stated basis; a certification logo alone cannot explain the origin, calculation or component coverage to the buyer.

Worked example: 30% of the body is not 30% of the assembly

Assume a hypothetical undecorated assembly consists only of a 100 g body, a 20 g lid and a 10 g plastic handle. The body contains 30 g of physically incorporated post-consumer recycled material; the lid and handle contain none. These invented weights illustrate arithmetic only. They are not a supplied model, material recommendation or production result.

• Body-only fraction: 30 / 100 = 30% by weight.
• Defined assembly fraction: 30 / 130 = approximately 23.1% by weight.
• Adding a label, seal, metal handle or another part changes the stated scope and may change the denominator. Obtain the actual component masses and the applicable calculation rule.

Compare the claim basis before ranking two offers

Now suppose Offer A uses the physical body-only statement in the example, while Offer B states a 30% share allocated under a named mass-balance credit method. The matching number does not make them equivalent. For A, resolve whether the purchasing requirement concerns the body or the full assembly. For B, obtain the exact allocation and product scope; do not insert 30 g into the physical-mass calculation above.

If your brief requires a physical post-consumer percentage in the complete pack, ask both suppliers to answer that requirement explicitly and mark any unproven element as unresolved. If it permits an allocated claim, compare both offers under the agreed method and wording. Neither hypothetical offer is automatically better: the buyer first has to define what claim the project needs.

Connect the statement to the proposed delivery

ISCC PLUS describes certification on a site basis and separates circular, bio-circular, bio and renewable-energy-derived feedstock categories. Do not replace a recycled-origin question with a generic alternative-feedstock statement. Ask how the supplier's evidence connects the proposed component and material reference to the relevant site, certificate scope, claim method and delivery or accounting period. A company certificate and a delivery-specific declaration answer different questions.

Treat these as questions to resolve under the actual scheme and contract, not a universal certificate checklist. RecyClass notes that available recycled content can vary between periods and that reporting depends on the calculation method. If the grade, component mix or source changes, ask whether the earlier declaration still describes the revised proposal.

Keep food contact and end-of-life evidence separate

A recycled-content percentage does not establish suitability for the contents, filling temperature or intended use. For the EU, the European Commission identifies a separate framework for recycled-plastic food-contact materials under Regulation (EU) 2022/1616 and lists subsequent amendments. Review the applicable intended-use documents with the proposed material; a traceability claim is not a food-contact approval.

Recycled content describes input and its claim basis. Recyclability concerns the finished pack and its destination system. Use the existing guides for those separate decisions rather than deriving recyclability, food safety or lower carbon emissions from a percentage alone.

Bring the proposed claim wording, component scope and unresolved material questions to the Custom Plastic project brief. Haihui Eastern has not established a supplied PCR/PIR model, mass-balance certification or recycled food-contact SKU through this guide. Availability, evidence and order terms require written confirmation for the actual proposal.

Purchasing questions

Sources and further reading

• FTC Green Guides — 16 CFR 260.13, recycled-content claims (US)
• SIS — CEN/TR 18160:2025, public catalogue scope for PCR and PIR
• ISCC — Mass Balance and Attribution: Understanding the Difference, 13 February 2026
• RecyClass — Traceability and controlled blending
• ISCC PLUS — Site certification and alternative feedstock categories
• European Commission — Food-contact materials legislation

General purchasing guidance does not replace the approved model drawing, test results or order terms.