On October 5, 2019, the independent certification organization NSF International announced the development of a new “voluntary product standard for tracking and verifying the content of recycled materials in a final product.” Known as the Global Recycled Standard (GRS), it is described as applying to the entire supply chain to support “traceability, environmental principles, social requirements, chemical content and labeling.”
A document describing the standard explains that it can be applied to all products containing a minimum of 20% recycled content, and it sets requirements for “third-party certification of recycled content, chain of custody, social and environmental practices, and chemical restrictions.” The certification procedure aims to support companies in verifying the recycled content of their products along with reviewing the “social, environmental, and chemical practices” used in the production. For chemicals, it restricts the use of any substances classified as substances of very high concern (SVHC) under REACH, substances that fall within a set of established health or environmental concerns, and substances that are not compliant with the Manufacturer’s Restricted Substance List (MRSL) developed by the ZDHC Foundation.
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NSF International (October 5, 2019). “Global Recycled Standard.”
Jim Johnson (October 7, 2019). “NSF to develop standards for recycled materials.” Plastics News
