China's State Administration for Market Regulation has recently issued nine national standards for the recycled plastics industry. The new standards will come into effect on 1 February 2026.
The China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation will administer the standards, and the plastics recycling branch of the China Synthetic Resin Association organised their formulation.
Market participants say the standards will require manufacturers to consider recyclability when designing packaging, reduce materials such as labels and adhesives, and avoid using metal for some bottle mouths.
This also invites a wide range of producers and users to discuss quality standards for detailed key specifications. The testing of recycled materials is a major concern for many recyclers and end-users, because of cases where virgin materials are passed off as recycled.
These standards may not be used in food-contact applications in the short term, but they can help to provide technical support for the entire process of building a closed-loop plastic recycling system, as well as offer clearer regulations for producing and using recycled plastics, a leading recycler said.
The standards include:
- Two for recyclable and regenerated designs (rPET and rHDPE)
- Two quality standards for recycled plastics (rMPO and rPPE)
- One basic standard on the "guidelines for traceability and environmental factor assessment of recycled plastics"
- Two component identification standards (rPET and rPP)
- Two evaluation standards for recycled plastics (rPET and rPS)
