NSF to Develop Recycled Material Standard (RMS) for Environmental Nonprofit GreenBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - With its 75-year history in standards development and certification, global public health organization NSF has begun facilitating the development of the Recycled Material Standard (RMS) on behalf of the environmental nonprofit GreenBlue. The RMS stakeholder committee will convene during the Sustainable Packaging Coalition Advance event held in Denver, Colo. 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 to address the need for recycled material in packaging at a critical time,” said Joshua Brugeman, Program Manager for Sustainability at NSF.

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

• Matthew Realff of Georgia Tech
• Mickel Knight of Printpack
• Rachel Goldstein of Mars Inc.
• Eric DesRoberts of Ocean Conservancy
• Eadaoin Quinn of EFS Plastic
• Jason Pierce of Eastman Chemical Company
• Kate Davenport of Eureka Recycling
• Andy Smith of King County, Wash.
• Jennifer McCracken of HAVI

Rachel Goldstein, Global Sustainable Packaging Senior Manager at Mars, Inc. and a GreenBlue board member said, “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.”

For more information on the RMS, please visit the RMS web page or contact Laura Thompson at [email protected].

For media inquiries, please contact Thomas Frey, APR, at +1.734.214.6242 or email [email protected].

NSF is an independent, global organization that facilitates standards development, and tests and certifies products for the food, water, health sciences and consumer goods industries to minimize adverse health effects and protect the environment. Founded in 1944, NSF is committed to protecting human health and safety worldwide. With operations in 110 countries, NSF is a Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center on Food Safety, Water Quality and Indoor Environment.

GreenBlue is an environmental nonprofit dedicated to the sustainable use of materials in society. Our mission is to promote the principles of sustainable materials management — use wisely, eliminate toxicity, and recover more. Through our projects, we achieve our goal by influencing the debate, enhancing supply chain collaboration, and creating action. GreenBlue is the parent nonprofit to The Sustainable Packaging Coalition, How2Recycle, CleanGredients, Forests in Focus and other programs.