OCEAN IMPACT. EXPLAINED.

Plastic waste found in or directly removed from oceans, seas, beaches, shorelines or other marine environments. The precise origin, collection route and material quality should always be stated clearly.

Plastic waste located in areas where there is a significant risk that it may enter the ocean if it is not collected and managed properly.

Human-made waste that has entered the marine environment. It can include plastics, metal, glass, fishing gear, textiles and other persistent materials.

Plastic material processed from recovered waste and used as feedstock for new products, components or packaging applications.

Recycled plastic made from products or packaging that have already been used by consumers and collected after their intended use.

Recycled plastic made from production scrap, offcuts or other industrial waste generated before a product reaches the consumer.

Waste generated after a product has completed its intended use with a consumer or commercial end user.

A secondary raw material produced through recycling. Depending on the process, recyclate may be supplied as flakes, pellets, fibres or another usable material form.

Raw or secondary material supplied to a manufacturing or recycling process. Recycled flakes and pellets can serve as feedstock for new plastic products.

A material made from long molecular chains. Common plastic polymers include PET, PP, HDPE and LDPE, each with different properties and applications.

Polyethylene terephthalate is widely used for beverage bottles, packaging and polyester fibres. It can be mechanically recycled when collected and sorted appropriately.

A durable and relatively lightweight polymer used in household products, components, caps, containers and many injection-moulded applications.

A strong polyethylene commonly used for rigid containers, household products, pipes and durable injection-moulded components.

A flexible polyethylene commonly used for films, bags, liners and flexible packaging applications.

A process in which plastic waste is sorted, cleaned, shredded, melted and reprocessed without deliberately changing the polymer's chemical structure.

A group of processes that break polymers down into chemical building blocks, oils or other feedstocks. Environmental performance depends strongly on the technology and energy source used.

A recycling route in which recovered material is used again for the same or a closely comparable product application.

A recycling route in which recovered material is used for a different product application, often with different technical requirements.

An economic model designed to reduce waste and keep products and materials in use for as long as possible through reuse, repair, refurbishment and recycling.

The practice of designing products and packaging so that their materials can be identified, separated and recycled more effectively at the end of use.

The ability to follow a material, activity or impact claim through documented stages such as collection, sorting, processing, production and reporting.

A documented system that records how material or verified attributes move between organisations and processing stages.

A voluntary third-party standard covering recycled content, chain of custody and selected social, environmental and chemical requirements.

A certification framework intended to verify defined collection zones, material flows and chain-of-custody requirements for ocean-bound plastic.

The European Union regulation governing the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals.

European rules restricting specified hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment.

A method for evaluating environmental impacts associated with the stages of a product or material life cycle, based on a defined scope and data set.

A framework used by organisations and investors to consider environmental, social and governance topics in strategy, risk management and reporting.

A policy approach that assigns producers responsibility for defined end-of-life impacts or costs associated with their products or packaging.

A transferable unit linked to a defined quantity of plastic collection or recycling activity. Quality depends on the methodology, additionality, verification and claim rules.

An organised activity that removes litter or mismanaged waste from a defined location and documents relevant information such as participants, date, region and collected quantity.

A local coordination point for collecting, sorting, storing or documenting recovered material before it moves to further processing.

Structured documentation of an activity or contribution, which may include quantities, dates, locations, project evidence, methods and approved communication claims.

Plastic particles generally smaller than five millimetres. They can be intentionally manufactured or result from the breakdown and abrasion of larger plastic products.