Evergreen Sustainable Packaging Terminology

Circular Economy: An economic model focused on reducing waste by keeping packaging materials in continuous use through reuse, recycling, refurbishment, and recovery, rather than following a traditional "take-make-dispose" approach.

Lightweighting: Reducing packaging weight while maintaining required structural performance and functionality. Lightweighting helps reduce raw material usage, transportation emissions, and overall environmental impact.

Reusable Packaging: Packaging designed for multiple use cycles before disposal, often involving refill, return, or cleaning systems. Compared to single-use packaging, reusable packaging may reduce total material consumption but requires additional logistics and handling systems.

Refillable Packaging: Packaging intended to be refilled and reused multiple times by consumers. Unlike reusable transport packaging, refillable packaging is typically associated with consumer product reuse.

Sustainable Packaging: Packaging designed to reduce environmental impact throughout its lifecycle while maintaining required product protection, performance, safety, and functionality. Sustainability considerations may include recyclability, recycled content, lightweighting, renewable materials, and reuse systems.

Source Reduction: Reducing packaging material usage, package size, or waste generation before the product enters the market. Lightweighting is one of the most common forms of source reduction.

Closed-Loop Recycling: A recycling process where material is recycled back into the same or similar product type, such as aluminum beverage cans recycled into new aluminum cans.

Downcycling: The recycling of material into products with lower performance or reduced material quality compared to the original application. Downcycling commonly occurs when material properties degrade during recycling or when contamination limits reuse in high-performance packaging applications. For example, recycled PET beverage bottles may be converted into polyester textile fibers instead of new food-grade bottles, and mixed recycled plastics may be processed into pallets or outdoor furniture rather than new packaging.

Mass Balance Approach: A chain-of-custody accounting method that tracks sustainable material input through a production system without physically separating the materials throughout processing. It is commonly used for chemically recycled and bio-based plastics.

Open-Loop Recycling: A recycling process where material is converted into a different product type after recycling, such as recycled PET bottles converted into textile fibers or industrial products.

PCR (Post-Consumer Recycled Material): Material recycled from products that have been used and disposed of by consumers, then collected, processed, and reintroduced into manufacturing. PCR helps reduce virgin material consumption and supports circular economy goals. Compared to virgin material, PCR may have greater variability in color, odor, and mechanical properties.

PIR (Post-Industrial Recycled Material): Material recycled from manufacturing scrap, off-cuts, or production waste before it reaches consumers. Compared to PCR, PIR material is generally cleaner and more consistent because it has not gone through consumer use cycles.

Recycled Content: The percentage of recycled material used in a package, which may include PCR, PIR, or both. Recycled content is often expressed as a percentage by weight of the total package.

Upcycling: The process of converting waste materials into products with higher value, improved functionality, or enhanced quality compared to the original application. Upcycling focuses on extending material usefulness while creating added economic or functional value. For example, reclaimed wood pallets may be converted into premium furniture, and discarded flexible packaging or textile materials may be repurposed into reusable shopping bags or fashion products.

Virgin Material: Newly produced raw material that has not previously been used or recycled. Compared to recycled material, virgin material generally offers more consistent properties but higher environmental impact.

Chasing Arrows Symbol: A triangular symbol commonly associated with recyclability or material identification. In some jurisdictions such as California, use of the symbol may be restricted if the package does not meet defined recyclability criteria.

Chemical Recycling: A recycling process that breaks materials down into molecular or chemical building blocks for reuse in new material production. Processes may include depolymerization, pyrolysis, or solvent-based recycling.

Design for Recycling (DfR): A packaging design approach that considers recyclability during product development. This includes selecting compatible materials, minimizing problematic components, reducing mixed materials, and improving sorting efficiency in recycling facilities.

Material Recovery Facility (MRF): A facility that receives, sorts, and prepares recyclable materials for shipment to reclaimers or recycling processors.

Mechanical Recycling: A recycling process involving physical processing methods such as grinding, washing, melting, and remolding without significantly changing the material's chemical structure.

Recyclable Packaging: Packaging designed to be collected, sorted, processed, and reused as raw material through existing recycling systems. Actual recyclability depends not only on material type, but also on local recycling infrastructure, package design, labels, adhesives, coatings, and component compatibility.

Recovery Rate: The percentage of material collected and diverted from landfill or incineration for recycling, reuse, or energy recovery.

Resin Identification Code (RIC): A number-based material identification system commonly displayed inside a triangle symbol on plastic packaging to identify resin types for sorting and recycling purposes. The system helps recycling facilities recognize common plastic materials, although the presence of an RIC does not automatically mean the package is recyclable in all regions.

Biodegradable: A material capable of breaking down through natural biological activity into smaller components over time. The degradation conditions and timeframe depend heavily on the material and disposal environment.

Bio-Based Plastic: Plastic partially or fully derived from renewable biological sources such as corn, sugarcane, or cellulose. Bio-based does not automatically mean biodegradable or compostable.

Compostable Packaging: Packaging designed to break down under composting conditions into carbon dioxide, water, biomass, and other natural substances without leaving toxic residue. Some compostable materials require industrial composting facilities rather than home composting environments.

Home Compostable: A compostable material capable of degrading under lower-temperature residential composting conditions without requiring industrial processing.

Industrial Compostable: A compostable material specifically designed to degrade under controlled industrial composting conditions involving elevated temperature, humidity, and microbial activity.

Renewable Material: Material sourced from naturally replenishable resources, such as paperboard from managed forests or bio-based polymers derived from plants.

Barrier Packaging: Packaging designed to reduce transmission of oxygen, moisture, light, or contaminants in order to protect sensitive products and extend shelf life. Barrier improvements may increase performance but can complicate recyclability if multiple materials are combined.

Detachable Components: Packaging components designed to be easily separated before recycling, such as removable sleeves, pumps, or labels. Proper separation can improve recyclability and material recovery quality.

Label Compatibility: The ability of labels, adhesives, inks, and sleeves to remain compatible with recycling systems without contaminating material streams or interfering with sorting processes.

Mono-Material Packaging: Packaging primarily made from a single material family, such as all-PE, all-PP, or all-PET structures. Compared to multi-material packaging, mono-material designs are generally easier to recycle.

Multi-Material Packaging: Packaging composed of multiple material types bonded or combined together, such as plastic/aluminum laminates or paper/plastic composites. Compared to mono-material packaging, it may improve performance but creates additional recycling challenges due to separation difficulty.

Packaging-to-Product Ratio (PPR): A measurement comparing packaging weight to product weight, often used to evaluate packaging efficiency and source reduction efforts.

Concentrated Product Packaging: Packaging designed for concentrated formulations that require dilution before use. Concentrates reduce packaging material usage and transportation weight compared to ready-to-use products.

Flexible Packaging: Packaging made from flexible materials such as films, pouches, sachets, or laminates. Compared to rigid packaging, flexible packaging often uses less material and reduces transportation weight, but recycling compatibility may be more challenging.

Mono-Material Pouch: A flexible pouch structure designed primarily from a single polymer family to improve recyclability compared to traditional multi-layer laminated pouches.

Refillable System Packaging: A packaging system designed so consumers purchase refill products separately while retaining and reusing the primary package. Commonly used in personal care, household, and food applications.

Rigid Packaging: Packaging that maintains a fixed shape, such as bottles, jars, cans, and cartons. Compared to flexible packaging, rigid formats generally provide higher structural protection and easier recyclability in many existing systems.

Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) Certification: A recyclability validation program developed by the Association of Plastic Recyclers. APR certification evaluates whether plastic packaging is compatible with existing North American recycling systems and follows Design for Recycling (DfR) guidelines.

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) Certification: A certification system provided by the Forest Stewardship Council verifying that paperboard, corrugated packaging, and wood-based materials originate from responsibly managed forests and controlled supply chains. FSC certification is widely used for sustainable paper and fiber-based packaging applications.

ISCC PLUS Certification: An international sustainability certification system used to verify traceability and mass balance accounting for recycled and bio-based materials throughout the supply chain. ISCC PLUS is commonly used for chemically recycled plastics and circular economy packaging programs.

ISO 14001: Environmental Management System: An international standard focused on environmental management practices and continuous improvement. ISO 14001 helps organizations reduce environmental impact through waste reduction, resource management, and sustainability programs. In packaging manufacturing, it is commonly used to support environmental compliance and sustainable production practices.

ISO 20400 Sustainable Procurement Guidance: An international standard providing guidance on integrating sustainability into procurement processes. In packaging supply chains, ISO 20400 supports responsible sourcing, ethical supplier management, and sustainability-focused purchasing decisions.

ISO/EMS 50001 Energy Management System: An international standard designed to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy consumption within manufacturing operations. ISO 50001 helps packaging manufacturers lower operational costs while reducing environmental impact through structured energy management practices.

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): A regulatory approach in which producers are assigned responsibility for managing the collection, recycling, or disposal of packaging after consumer use.

Food Contact Compliance: Regulatory requirements ensuring packaging materials are safe for direct or indirect food contact applications. Sustainability-related material changes, such as PCR integration, may require additional compliance evaluation.

PFAS: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a group of fluorinated chemicals sometimes used for grease, oil, or water resistance in packaging materials. Often called "forever chemicals" due to their resistance to environmental and biological breakdown, PFAS persist in ecosystems and accumulate in living organisms over time. Many jurisdictions are increasing restrictions on intentionally added PFAS in food-contact packaging.

Recycled Content Mandates: Regulations requiring packaging to contain minimum levels of recycled material content, commonly applied to beverage containers, plastic bottles, or specific packaging categories.

SB 343: A California law regulating recyclability claims and the use of recycling-related symbols on packaging. The law requires packaging to meet specific recyclability criteria before displaying chasing arrows or similar recycling claims. For a more detailed overview of SB 343 and its impact on packaging claims and labeling, you can explore our SB 343 post here.