Hi,
We are a building insulation product manufacturer and are developing a new polyurethane foam insulation product. We want to have recycled content in the product but have a question about it: If we took off-spec batches (not performing adequately) or expired batches and “rework” them into our formulations, would that count as post-industrial recycled content? Or would it be more "reused content"?
Is there any guide as to what exactly can be considered as recycled content in a product?
Thanks for any help.
Mickel
Dave Hubka
Practice Leader - SustainabilityEUA
LEEDuser Expert
525 thumbs up
March 30, 2023 - 7:58 pm
Recycled content is defined by ISO 14021
ISO 14021 defines recycled content as "the proportion, by mass, of recycled material in a product or packaging. Only pre-consumer and post-consumer materials shall be considered as recycled content, consistent with the following usage of the terms:
Pre-consumer material:
Material diverted from the waste stream during a manufacturing process. Excluded is reutilization of materials such as rework, regrind or scrap generated in a process and capable of being reclaimed within the same process that generated it.
Post-consumer material:
Material generated by households or by commercial, industrial and institutional facilities in their role as end-users of the product, which can no longer be used for its intended purpose. This includes returns of material from the distribution chain." For the purposes of the calculation, the term 'product' refers to the final product as delivered to the construction site and incorporated in the works.
From what you describe I don't believe the product(s) in question can be defined as either pre- or post-consumer recycled content.