Plastic Credits

What are Plastic Credits?

Plastic credits are measurable, verifiable, and transferable units representing a specific quantity of plastic that has been collected from the environment, or recycled.

South Pole sees plastic credits as an opportunity for companies to invest in regional collection and recycling infrastructure. Thereby plastic credits can help companies take responsibility in creating the conditions of a circular economy, beyond existing reduction and redesign efforts. We believe plastic credits should work alongside, or enhance, Extended Producer Responsibility regulation.

Why purchase Plastic Credits?

Regional waste management infrastructure lacks the capacity to capture and recycle all the plastic waste we generate. We all currently rely on regional governments to manage our waste, without any alignment to the companies who design the products and packaging that become waste.

Extended Producer Responsibility legislation offers a local and mandatory solution. Plastic credits on the other hand offer an additional or integrated voluntary and internationally standardized solution.

Companies can address their plastic footprints by buying plastic credits from certified activities that enable the regional scale-up of collection and recycling infrastructure, while supporting community development.

Net Zero Plastic to Nature

After implementing upstream solutions, businesses can use plastic credits to address their residual footprint. To achieve net zero plastic leakage, companies need to:

1. Measure their plastic footprint to identify how much of the plastic they use & produce is leaking into the environment, and where.
2. Retire an equivalent amount of plastic waste collection credits to the value of plastic leaked into the environment for the corresponding time period, region and polymer type.

Net 100% recycled at end-of-life

Once a company has addressed the plastic leakage from their footprint, they can invest in regional recycling infrastructure by ensuring that an equivalent weight of the plastic they put into the market is recycled. A company can achieve net 100% recycled at end-of-life by:

1. Achieve net zero plastic leakage
2. Identify how much of the plastic they produce is not recycled
3. Purchase recycling credits in the relevant region and for the relevant polymer type. The credits should cover the volume not recycled by existing infrastructure

By addressing plastic leakage through plastic credits, companies take transparent and accountable action for their impact, and drive financing to plastic waste collection & recycling infrastructure.