The landscape of plastic packaging labeling is changing. 

In early October, the State of California passed a bill restricting the use of the “chasing arrows” recycling symbols to products that meet new statewide recycling criteria. 

The bill would require state agency CalRecycle to produce a list on or before Jan. 1, 2024, of commonly recovered materials at recycling facilities in the state. Based on that information, a product could only be labeled recyclable if it is collected in curbside programs that cover at least 60% of the state's population and is sorted into defined streams and reclaimed at facilities meeting Basel Convention standards. 

As a result, manufacturers would have 18 months after the list's release to get their products in compliance by changing any "deceptive or misleading" language or symbols.

How does this apply to lubricant packaging?

The first issue is that most plastic packaging used for lubricant products is not recyclable. Plastic oil containers cannot be easily accepted in recycling facilities due to the residual oil they contain after use. Even after oil changes, around 2 oz of the product remains in the container. Therefore, the container itself is also considered hazardous waste by recyclers and is generally managed separately from other plastic waste. Given this, lubricant containers clearly do not meet the state of California’s definition of recyclability, whether petroleum packaging ends up on CalRecycle’s list or not.

An additional concern is that it is unclear what happens if a product is sold in another state and then transported into the state of California; or how inventory is handled that was produced and sold prior to the deadline but consumed and disposed of after. 

To limit liability and risks of non-compliance in California, many producers are considering removing the labels altogether, regardless of which state their products are sold.

What is the NLCRC’s Role? 

The fate of plastics in the environment is an area of growing concern and the implementation of effective and sustainable waste management strategies is of critical importance in the US. 

At present, the challenges with recycling HDPE from lubricant containers have led to minimal solutions. California's new law follows the recent passage of an extended producer responsibility law in Oregon which creates a "Truth in Labeling" task force meant to "study and evaluate misleading or confusing claims" about whether certain products are recyclable. 

Clearly, new state policy is on the horizon dictating that new solutions are to be made available. Developing a comprehensive solution for recycling post-consumer plastic packaging in the US is the mission of the NLCRC. We recognize that no one company can make these shifts alone; however, collectively, as an industry, the opportunity exists via the NLCRC to join together under a unified approach to collaborate to make changes within the waste management system and recycle hard-to-degrade plastics such as lubricant containers. 

To push the change within society, it is needed that companies, manufacturers, competitors, civil society, and governmental organizations come together to share best practices and act as a united front. The NLCRC is an industry-led technical coalition, established by a committed group of industry leaders in lubricant and associated plastic packaging manufacturing, focused on establishing solutions for post-consumer recovery and recycling of plastic lubricant containers. The NLCRC founding leaders include Castrol, Valvoline, Pennzoil - Quaker State Company, Graham Packaging, and Plastipak Packaging. 

Learn how the NLCRC is addressing the waste problem by becoming a member.  Connect with us through LinkedIn and Twitter.  If you have any questions or inquires, send us an email at hello@nationallcrc.com.