Recycled plastics material

Material recovered from used industrial packagings or from other plastics material that has been pre-sorted and prepared for processing into new packagings, including IBCs. The specific properties of the recycled material used for production of new packagings shall be assured and documented regularly as part of a quality assurance programme recognized by the competent authority. The quality assurance programme shall include a record of proper pre-sorting and verification that each batch of recycled plastics material which is of homogeneous composition, is consistent with the material specifications (melt flow rate, density, and tensile properties) of the design type manufactured from such recycled material. This necessarily includes knowledge about the packaging material from which the recycled plastics have been derived, as well as awareness of the prior use, including prior contents, of the plastics material if that prior use might reduce the capability of new packagings, including IBCs, produced using that material. In addition, the packaging or IBC manufacturer's quality assurance programme under 6.1.1.4 or 6.5.4.1 shall include performance of the appropriate mechanical design type test in 6.1.5 or 6.5.6 on packagings or IBCs manufactured from each batch of recycled plastics material. In this testing, stacking performance may be verified by appropriate dynamic compression testing rather than static load testing; NOTE: ISO 16103:2005 "Packaging – Transport packages for dangerous goods – Recycled plastics material", provides additional guidance on procedures which may be followed in approving the use of recycled plastics material. These guidelines have been developed based on the experience of the manufacturing of drums and jerricans from recycled plastics material and as such may need to be adapted for other types of packagings, IBCs and large packagings made of recycled plastics material.