NSF International Develops Recycled Material Standard for GreenBlue

With its 75-year history in standards development and certification, global public health organization NSF International has begun facilitating the development of the Recycled Material Standard (RMS) on behalf of the environmental nonprofit GreenBlue. The RMS stakeholder committee recently convened during the Sustainable Packaging Coalition Advance event held in Denver to review an initial draft of the requirements. Over the next several months, discussions will continue with the stakeholder committee as the standard is developed with a projected publication date in early 2021.

Brands, together with their suppliers and the recycling industry, are currently facing challenges to incorporate higher amounts of recycled content into packaging. The global standard will help advance adoption of certified material for common packing materials, beginning with plastic.

“GreenBlue and its Sustainable Packaging Coalition partners are coming together with NSF International to address the need for recycled material in packaging at a critical time,” said Joshua Brugeman, program manager for sustainability at NSF International, in a statement.

The RMS stakeholder committee comprises individuals representing brands, manufacturers, nonprofit groups and sustainability services. Members of the committee include:

“The stakeholder committee for the RMS is an important group of individuals who are ready to support the development of robust criteria for utilizing recycled materials,” said Goldstein, global sustainable packaging senior manager at Mars, Inc., in a statement.