Description: Any whole, extrusion grade, clear or transparent light blue polyethylene terephthalate (PET) postconsumer package labeled with the ASTM D7611 “#1, PET or PETE” resin identification code, not including bottles and jars, but including and not limited to egg cartons, baskets, clamshell containers, cups, lids, cake domes, covers, blister pack without paperboard backing, tubs, deli containers, trays and folded PET sheet containers. All packages should be free of contents or free flowing liquids. Closures (caps, lids, rings, and labels) may be included.
All thermoform pieces must be optically sorted (as PET), and no other thermoform shall come from any other sorting stations. (This is specified to prevent lookalike thermoform—PS, PLA, PVC—from being mixed with PET.)
Product: Polyethylene Terephthalate Thermoform Plastic
Source: Post-consumer material collected primarily from residential sources, may also include some material that has met its intended use from commercial establishments.
“CHECK WITH YOUR BUYER(S) as to their allowances for: transparent green, or any other color (other than light blue).
Contamination: Total contaminants should not exceed 6% by weight.
ALLOWABLE CONTAMINANTS AT LOW LEVELS: These contaminants are tolerable at low levels. The following contaminants should not exceed 2% by weight of any of the following “individual” contaminants, unless noted otherwise.
- HDPE (#2), LDPE (#4), PP (#5) rigid packaging
- PS (#6) and Other (#7) rigid plastic, including PLA plastic
- Polyethylene Terephthalate Blycol (PETG)
- PVC (#3) – maximum 1%
- Aluminum cans
- Loose paper or cardboard (OCC)
- Liquid residues
CONTAMINANTS NOT ALLOWED: If present, these contaminants may result in rejection.
- Any non-packaging products
- Any bulky rigid plastics
- Any plastic bags or plastic film
- Any plastic foam
- Items containing degradable additives
- Containers which held hazardous materials, such as flammable, corrosive, or reactive products, pesticides, or herbicides, including motor oil bottles
- Other metal, wood, glass
- Batteries
- Bio-medical waste items (e.g., syringes, sharps, gloves, masks)
- Rocks, stones, mud, oils and grease
General: Refer to the General Information section for additional information.
Effective as of: July 14th, 2022
Terms & Conditions
Product These guidelines are designed with the potential for dealing with all recycled plastic in bale form. Initial specifications refer only to bottles. The code framework allows for generation of guidelines for all types of plastic packaging materials (including rigids and flexibles) with room for expansion to other plastic products and resins including those which are used to produce durable goods. Guidelines for those products may be added at a later date. Bale Density Bales shall be compressed to a minimum density of 10 pounds per cubic foot and a maximum density to be determined by individual contract between Buyer and Seller. Increased density may improve transportation efficiency, but over-compression may adversely affect the ability of a Buyer to separate, sort, and reprocess the material. Bale Tying Material Bale wires, ties, or straps shall be made of non-rusting or corroding material. Bale Integrity Bale integrity must be maintained through loading, shipping, handling, and storage. Distorted or broken bales are difficult to handle. They are unacceptable and may result in downgrading, rejection, or charge back. Allowable Contamination Unspecified materials must not exceed 2% of total bale weight. Bales which contain over 2% will be subjected to reduction in the contracted price of the material as well as charges for disposal of the contaminants. The reduced percentage will vary depending upon the amount and type of contamination. Quality of the baled plastic is the primary factor which determines the value. Prohibited Material Certain materials are understood to be specified as “prohibited.” Such materials will render the bale “non-specification” and may cause some customers to reject the entire shipment. These may include plastic materials which have a deleterious effect on each other when reprocessed, and materials such as agricultural chemicals, hazardous materials, flammable liquids and/or their containers, and medical waste. Liquids Plastic containers/materials should be empty and dry when baled. The bale should be free of any free-flowing liquid of any type. General Shipments should be essentially free of dirt, mud, stones, grease, glass, and paper. The plastic must not have been damaged by ultraviolet exposure. Every effort should be made to store the material above ground and under cover. A good faith effort on the part of the supplier will be made to include only rinsed bottles which have closures removed.
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