D20.95 - Recycled Plastics

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
5.1 Presence of paper, metal, or incompatible polymer contamination in poly(ethylene terephthalate) renders the recycled polymer unfit for use in secondary product manufacturing operations. This procedure is useful for identifying different types of contamination in recycled PET flakes.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice covers an indication of the quality of recycled transparent poly(ethylene terephthalate) by examination of a wafer or plaque formed by melting a representative sample and quenching it to prevent crystallization.  
1.2 Specific contaminants and impurities such as aluminum particles, dirt particles, paper, and fibers are identified in the transparent wafer. This method is only limited to contamination observable through visual methods. If there are low levels (0–200 ppm) of certain types of contamination, which are transparent and partially/wholly miscible with PET, they will not be apparent through this method.  
1.3 The overall color of the plaque is indicative of oxidizable contaminants such as ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) glue residue and the number of bubbles present in the plaque gives an indication of the moisture content of the sample.  
1.4 Units—The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. No other units of measurement are included in this standard.  
1.5 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. Specific precautionary statements are given in Section 8.
Note 1: There is no known ISO equivalent to this standard.  
1.6 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
5.1 Presence of even low concentrations of PVC in recycled PET flakes results in equipment corrosion problems during processing. The PVC contamination level shall dictate the market for use of the recycled polymer in secondary products. Procedures presented in this practice are used to identify the PVC contamination in recycled PET flakes.
Note 4: These procedures may also be used to estimate the concentration of PVC contamination.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice covers four procedures for separation and qualitative identification of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) contamination in poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) flakes.
Note 1: Although not presented as a quantitative method, procedures presented in this practice may be used to provide quantitative results at the discretion of the user. The user assumes the responsibility to verify the reproducibility of quantitative results. Data from an independent source suggest a PVC detection level of 200 ppm (w/w) based on an original sample weight of 454 g.  
1.2 Procedure A is based on different fluorescence of PVC and PET when these polymers are exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light.  
1.3 Procedure B is an oven test based upon the charring of PVC when it is heated in air at 235°C.  
1.4 Procedures C and D are dye tests based on differential staining of PVC and PET.  
Note 2: Other polymers (for example, PETG) also absorb the stain or brightener. Such interferences will result in false positive identification of PVC as the contaminant.  
1.5 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. For specific hazards see Section 8.  
Note 3: There is no known ISO equivalent to this standard.  
1.6 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
5.1 Dirt, paper and mixtures of polymeric materials complicate the interpretation of data from procedures used to identify the contaminants in recycled plastics.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice describes a procedure for separating recycled plastics based on their color and a procedure for washing dirty, ground plastic, which results in separation of light materials (density 3). This practice is not intended to represent generic washing procedures used in the plastics recycling industry. The described procedures are solely for preparation of plastic samples for use in other analytical tests. The procedure includes a room temperature wash step to facilitate separation of paper (for example, labels) followed by washing at an elevated temperature.
Note 1: Although not presented as a quantitative method, the procedure presented in this practice may be used to provide quantitative results. The user assumes the responsibility to verify the reproducibility of quantitative results.  
1.2 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as the standard.  
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.
Note 2: There is no known ISO equivalent to this standard.  
1.4 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
5.1 Problems with extrusion and subsequent processing of the material are caused, in part, by the presence of paper, metal, gels, incompatible polymers, or other extraneous contamination found in polymers.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice covers a means to separate the unmolten particles, gels, and impurities contaminating a polymer sample. The procedure may be used to remove gels and incompatible materials that may cause imperfections in the final extruded product. Under pressure, most gels will break up or deform and pass through a wire mesh filter, however high molecular weight gels may not break up or deform.  
1.2 Materials isolated on a wire mesh filter can be identified by spectroscopic or other analytical means.
Note 1: Although not presented as a quantitative method, the procedure presented in this practice may be used to provide quantitative results at the discretion of the user. The user assumes the responsibility to verify the reproducibility of quantitative results. Detection limit depends on the mesh size of the filter screen, but the procedure is generally applicable to the separation of immiscible contaminants present at concentrations greater than 0.1 %.  
1.3 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard.  
1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. For specific hazards statements, see Section 8
Note 2: There is no known ISO equivalent to this standard.  
1.5 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
4.1 Resin Identification Codes are used solely to identify the plastic resin used in a manufactured article. The intended manufactured articles include, but are not limited to, packaging.  
4.1.1 Fig. 1 and Table 1 present the appropriate information on the way the RIC is to be incorporated onto the product and the available resin identification designations.
FIG. 1 Example of a Resin Identification Marker  
4.2 Resin Identification Codes are not “recycle codes.” The Resin Identification Code is, though, an aid to recycling. The use of a Resin Identification Code on a manufactured plastic article does not imply that the article is recycled or that there are systems in place to effectively process the article for reclamation or re-use. The term “recyclable” or other environmental claims shall not be placed in proximity to the Code.  
4.3 This practice is based upon the system developed in 1988 by the Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc (SPI). It is possible that some states or countries will have incorporated the original SPI practice into statute or regulation. In those situations, that statute or regulation takes precedence over this standard.  
4.4 This practice shall only apply to new tooling. Existing molds that already incorporate older versions of the SPI RIC may be modified, but modification is not required.  
4.5 Assign number for manufactured items, not for adhesives or coatings. Do not code labels for resin of the label.  
4.6 Section 6 addresses the process to add new numbers to the Resin Identification Code.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice stipulates the types, names, and sizes of Codes for those material types specified in Table 1.  
1.2 The values stated in either SI units or inch-pound units are to be regarded separately as standard. The values stated in each system are likely not to be exact equivalents; therefore, each system shall be used independently of the other. Combining values from the two systems is likely to result in non-conformance with the standard.  
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.
Note 1: There is no known ISO equivalent to this standard.  
1.4 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
5.1 Recycled plastic materials may contain incompatible plastic or other undesirable contaminants that could affect the processing or quality, or both, of the plastic prepared for reuse. Techniques to separate and identify incompatible plastics, moisture, chemicals, or original product residues, and solid contaminants such as metals, paper, glass, and wood are essential to the processing of recycled plastic materials.  
5.2 This guide lists existing ASTM and ISO methods plus currently practiced industrial techniques for identification and classification of contaminants in recycled plastics flake or pellets.
SCOPE
1.1 This guide is intended to provide information on available methods for the separation and classification of contaminants such as moisture, incompatible polymers, metals, adhesives, glass, paper, wood, chemicals, and original-product residues in recycled plastic flakes or pellets. Although no specific methods for identification or characterization of foam products are included, foam products are not excluded from this guide. The methods presented apply to post-consumer plastics.  
1.2 For specific procedures existing as ASTM test methods, this guide only lists the appropriate reference. Where no current ASTM standard exists, however, this guide gives procedures for the separation or identification, or both, of specific contaminants. Appendix X1 lists the tests and the specific contaminant addressed by each procedure.  
1.3 This guide does not include procedures to quantify the contaminants unless this information is available in referenced ASTM standards.  
1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.
Note 1: There is no known ISO equivalent to this standard.  
1.5 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
4.1 Resin Identification Codes are used solely to identify the plastic resin used in a manufactured article. The intended manufactured articles include, but are not limited to, packaging.  
4.1.1 Fig. 1 and Table 1 present the appropriate information on the way the RIC is to be incorporated onto the product and the available resin identification designations.
FIG. 1 Example of a Resin Identification Marker  
4.2 Resin Identification Codes are not “recycle codes.” The Resin Identification Code is, though, an aid to recycling. The use of a Resin Identification Code on a manufactured plastic article does not imply that the article is recycled or that there are systems in place to effectively process the article for reclamation or re-use. The term “recyclable” or other environmental claims shall not be placed in proximity to the Code.  
4.3 This practice is based upon the system developed in 1988 by the Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc (SPI). It is possible that some states or countries will have incorporated the original SPI practice into statute or regulation. In those situations, that statute or regulation takes precedence over this standard.  
4.4 This practice shall only apply to new tooling. Existing molds that already incorporate older versions of the SPI RIC may be modified, but modification is not required.  
4.5 Assign number for manufactured items, not for adhesives or coatings. Do not code labels for resin of the label.  
4.6 Section 6 addresses the process to add new numbers to the Resin Identification Code.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice stipulates the types, names, and sizes of Codes for those material types specified in Table 1.  
1.2 The values stated in either SI units or inch-pound units are to be regarded separately as standard. The values stated in each system are likely not to be exact equivalents; therefore, each system shall be used independently of the other. Combining values from the two systems is likely to result in non-conformance with the standard.  
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.
Note 1: There is no known ISO equivalent to this standard.  
1.4 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
4.1 Resin Identification Codes are used solely to identify the plastic resin used in a manufactured article. The intended manufactured articles include, but are not limited to, packaging.  
4.1.1 Fig. 1 and Table 1 present the appropriate information on the way the RIC is to be incorporated onto the product and the available resin identification designations.
FIG. 1 Example of a Resin Identification Marker  
4.2 Resin Identification Codes are not “recycle codes.” The Resin Identification Code is, though, an aid to recycling. The use of a Resin Identification Code on a manufactured plastic article does not imply that the article is recycled or that there are systems in place to effectively process the article for reclamation or re-use. The term “recyclable” or other environmental claims shall not be placed in proximity to the Code.  
4.3 This practice is based upon the system developed in 1988 by the Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc (SPI). It is possible that some states or countries will have incorporated the original SPI practice into statute or regulation. In those situations, that statute or regulation takes precedence over this standard.  
4.4 This practice shall only apply to new tooling. Existing molds that already incorporate older versions of the SPI RIC may be modified, but modification is not required.  
4.5 Assign number for manufactured items, not for adhesives or coatings. Do not code labels for resin of the label.  
4.6 Section 6 addresses the process to add new numbers to the Resin Identification Code.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice stipulates the types, names, and sizes of Codes for those material types specified in Table 1.  
1.2 The values stated in either SI units or inch-pound units are to be regarded separately as standard. The values stated in each system are likely not to be exact equivalents; therefore, each system shall be used independently of the other. Combining values from the two systems is likely to result in non-conformance with the standard.  
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.
Note 1: There is no known ISO equivalent to this standard.  
1.4 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
Recycled plastic materials may contain incompatible plastic or other undesirable contaminants that could affect the processing or quality, or both, of the plastic prepared for reuse. Techniques to separate and identify incompatible plastics, moisture, chemicals, or original product residues, and solid contaminants such as metals, paper, glass, and wood are essential to the processing of recycled plastic materials.
This guide lists existing ASTM and ISO methods plus currently practiced industrial techniques for identification and classification of contaminants in recycled plastics flake or pellets.
SCOPE
1.1 This guide is intended to provide information on available methods for the separation and classification of contaminants such as moisture, incompatible polymers, metals, adhesives, glass, paper, wood, chemicals, and original-product residues in recycled plastic flakes or pellets. Although no specific methods for identification or characterization of foam products are included, foam products are not excluded from this guide. The methods presented apply to post-consumer plastics.  
1.2 For specific procedures existing as ASTM test methods, this guide only lists the appropriate reference. Where no current ASTM standard exists, however, this guide gives procedures for the separation or identification, or both, of specific contaminants. Appendix X1 lists the tests and the specific contaminant addressed by each procedure.
1.3 This guide does not include procedures to quantify the contaminants unless this information is available in referenced ASTM standards.
1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.
Note 1—There is no known ISO equivalent to this standard.
WITHDRAWN RATIONALE
This guide is intended to provide information on available methods for the separation and classification of contaminants such as moisture, incompatible polymers, metals, adhesives, glass, paper, wood, chemicals, and original-product residues in recycled plastic flakes or pellets. Although no specific methods for identification or characterization of foam products are included, foam products are not excluded from this guide. The methods presented apply to post-consumer plastics.
Formerly under the jurisdiction of Committee D20 on Plastics, this guide was withdrawn in January 2019 in accordance with section 10.6.3 of the Regulations Governing ASTM Technical Committees, which requires that standards shall be updated by the end of the eighth year since the last approval date.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
4.1 Resin Identification Codes are used solely to identify the plastic resin used in a manufactured article. The intended manufactured articles include, but are not limited to, packaging.  
4.1.1 Fig. 1 and Table 1 present the appropriate information on the way the RIC is to be incorporated onto the product and the available resin identification designations.
FIG. 1 Example of a Resin Identification Marker  
4.2 Resin Identification Codes are not “recycle codes.” The Resin Identification Code is, though, an aid to recycling. The use of a Resin Identification Code on a manufactured plastic article does not imply that the article is recycled or that there are systems in place to effectively process the article for reclamation or re-use. The term “recyclable” or other environmental claims shall not be placed in proximity to the Code.  
4.3 This practice is based upon the system developed in 1988 by the Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc (SPI). It is possible that some states or countries will have incorporated the original SPI practice into statute or regulation. In those situations, that statute or regulation takes precedence over this standard.  
4.4 This practice shall only apply to new tooling. Existing molds that already incorporate older versions of the SPI RIC may be modified, but modification is not required.  
4.5 Assign number for manufactured items, not for adhesives or coatings. Do not code labels for resin of the label.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice stipulates the types, names, and sizes of Codes for those material types specified in Table 1.  
1.2 The values stated in either SI units or inch-pound units are to be regarded separately as standard. The values stated in each system are likely not to be exact equivalents; therefore, each system shall be used independently of the other. Combining values from the two systems is likely to result in non-conformance with the standard.  
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.
Note 1: There is no known ISO equivalent to this standard.  
1.4 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
5.1 Presence of paper, metal, or incompatible polymer contamination in poly(ethylene terephthalate) renders the recycled polymer unfit for use in secondary product manufacturing operations. This procedure is useful for identifying different types of contamination in recycled PET flakes.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice covers an indication of the quality of recycled transparent poly(ethylene terephthalate) by examination of a wafer or plaque formed by melting a representative sample and quenching it to prevent crystallization.  
1.2 Specific contaminants and impurities such as aluminum particles, dirt particles, paper, and fibers are identified in the transparent wafer.  
1.3 The overall color of the plaque is indicative of oxidizable contaminants such as ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) glue residue and the number of bubbles present in the plaque gives an indication of the moisture content of the sample.  
1.4 Units—The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. No other units of measurement are included in this standard.  
1.5 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. Specific precautionary statements are given in Section 8.
Note 1: There is no known ISO equivalent to this standard.  
1.6 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
5.1 Problems with extrusion and subsequent processing of the material are caused, in part, by the presence of paper, metal, gels, incompatible polymers, or other extraneous contamination found in polymers.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice covers a means to separate the unmolten particles, gels, and impurities contaminating a polymer sample. The procedure may be used to remove gels and incompatible materials that may cause imperfections in the final extruded product. Under pressure, most gels will break up or deform and pass through a wire mesh filter, however high molecular weight gels may not break up or deform.  
1.2 Materials isolated on a wire mesh filter can be identified by spectroscopic or other analytical means.
Note 1: Although not presented as a quantitative method, the procedure presented in this practice may be used to provide quantitative results at the discretion of the user. The user assumes the responsibility to verify the reproducibility of quantitative results. Detection limit depends on the mesh size of the filter screen, but the procedure is generally applicable to the separation of immiscible contaminants present at concentrations greater than 0.1 %.  
1.3 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard.  
1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. For specific hazards statements, see Section 8
Note 2: There is no known ISO equivalent to this standard.  
1.5 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
5.1 Dirt, paper and mixtures of polymeric materials complicate the interpretation of data from procedures used to identify the contaminants in recycled plastics.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice describes a procedure for separating recycled plastics based on their color and a procedure for washing dirty, ground plastic, which results in separation of light materials (density 3). This practice is not intended to represent generic washing procedures used in the plastics recycling industry. The described procedures are solely for preparation of plastic samples for use in other analytical tests. The procedure includes a room temperature wash step to facilitate separation of paper (for example, labels) followed by washing at an elevated temperature.
Note 1: Although not presented as a quantitative method, the procedure presented in this practice may be used to provide quantitative results. The user assumes the responsibility to verify the reproducibility of quantitative results.  
1.2 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as the standard.  
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.
Note 2: There is no known ISO equivalent to this standard.  
1.4 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
5.1 Presence of even low concentrations of PVC in recycled PET flakes results in equipment corrosion problems during processing. The PVC contamination level shall dictate the market for use of the recycled polymer in secondary products. Procedures presented in this practice are used to identify the PVC contamination in recycled PET flakes.
Note 4: These procedures may also be used to estimate the concentration of PVC contamination.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice covers four procedures for separation and qualitative identification of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) contamination in poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) flakes.  
Note 1: Although not presented as a quantitative method, procedures presented in this practice may be used to provide quantitative results at the discretion of the user. The user assumes the responsibility to verify the reproducibility of quantitative results. Data from an independent source suggest a PVC detection level of 200 ppm (w/w) based on an original sample weight of 454 g.  
1.2 Procedure A is based on different fluorescence of PVC and PET when these polymers are exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light.  
1.3 Procedure B is an oven test based upon the charring of PVC when it is heated in air at 235°C.  
1.4 Procedures C and D are dye tests based on differential staining of PVC and PET.  
Note 2: Other polymers (for example, PETG) also absorb the stain or brightener. Such interferences will result in false positive identification of PVC as the contaminant.  
1.5 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. For specific hazards see Section 8.  
Note 3: There is no known ISO equivalent to this standard.  
1.6 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
5.1 Presence of even low concentrations of PVC in recycled PET flakes results in equipment corrosion problems during processing. The PVC contamination leve shall dictate the market for use of the recycled polymer in secondary products. Procedures presented in this practice are used to identify the PVC contamination in recycled PET flakes.
Note 4: These procedures may also be used to estimate the concentration of PVC contamination.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice covers four procedures for separation and qualitative identification of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) contamination in poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) flakes.  
Note 1: Although not presented as a quantitative method, procedures presented in this practice may be used to provide quantitative results at the discretion of the user. The user assumes the responsibility to verify the reproducibility of quantitative results. Data from an independent source suggest a PVC detection level of 200 ppm (w/w) based on an original sample weight of 454 g.  
1.2 Procedure A is based on different fluorescence of PVC and PET when these polymers are exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light.  
1.3 Procedure B is an oven test based upon the charring of PVC when it is heated in air at 235°C.  
1.4 Procedures C and D are dye tests based on differential staining of PVC and PET.  
Note 2: Other polymers (for example, PETG) also absorb the stain or brightener. Such interferences will result in false positive identification of PVC as the contaminant.  
1.5 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. For specific hazards see Section 8.  
Note 3: There is no known ISO equivalent to this standard.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
5.1 Problems with extrusion and subsequent processing of the material are caused, in part, by the presence of paper, metal, gels, incompatible polymers, or other extraneous contamination found in polymers.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice covers a means to separate the unmolten particles, gels, and impurities contaminating a polymer sample. The procedure may be used to remove gels and incompatible materials that may cause imperfections in the final extruded product. Under pressure, most gels will break up or deform and pass through a wire mesh filter, however high molecular weight gels may not break up or deform.  
1.2 Materials isolated on a wire mesh filter can be identified by spectroscopic or other analytical means.
Note 1: Although not presented as a quantitative method, the procedure presented in this practice may be used to provide quantitative results at the discretion of the user. The user assumes the responsibility to verify the reproducibility of quantitative results. Detection limit depends on the mesh size of the filter screen, but the procedure is generally applicable to the separation of immiscible contaminants present at concentrations greater than 0.1 %.  
1.3 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard.  
1.4 This standard does not purport to address the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. For specific hazards statements, see Section 8.
Note 2: There is no known ISO equivalent to this standard.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
5.1 Dirt, paper and mixtures of polymeric materials complicate the interpretation of data from procedures used to identify the contaminants in recycled plastics.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice describes a procedure for separating recycled plastics based on their color and a procedure for washing dirty, ground plastic, which results in separation of light materials (density 3). This practice is not intended to represent generic washing procedures used in the plastics recycling industry. The described procedures are solely for preparation of plastic samples for use in other analytical tests. The procedure includes a room temperature wash step to facilitate separation of paper (for example, labels) followed by washing at an elevated temperature.
Note 1: Although not presented as a quantitative method, the procedure presented in this practice may be used to provide quantitative results. The user assumes the responsibility to verify the reproducibility of quantitative results.  
1.2 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as the standard.  
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.
Note 2: There is no known ISO equivalent to this standard.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
4.1 Resin Identification Codes are used solely to identify the plastic resin used in a manufactured article.  
4.2 Resin Identification Codes are not “recycle codes.” The use of a Resin Identification Code on a manufactured plastic article does not imply that the article is recycled or that there are systems in place to effectively process the article for reclamation or re-use. The term “recyclable” or other environmental claims shall not be placed in proximity to the Code.  
4.3 This practice is based upon the system developed in 1988 by the Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc (SPI). It is possible that some states or countries will have incorporated the original SPI practice into statute or regulation. In those situations, that statute or regulation takes precedence over this standard.  
4.4 This practice shall only apply to new tooling. Existing molds that already incorporate older versions of the SPI RIC may be modified, but modification is not required.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice stipulates the types, names, and sizes of Codes for those material types specified in Table 1.
1.2 The values stated in either SI units or inch-pound units are to be regarded separately as standard. The values stated in each system are likely not to be exact equivalents; therefore, each system shall be used independently of the other. Combining values from the two systems is likely to result in non-conformance with the standard.  
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.Note 1—There is no known ISO equivalent to this standard.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
4.1 Resin Identification Codes are used solely to identify the plastic resin used in a manufactured article.  
4.2 Resin Identification Codes are not “recycle codes.” The use of a Resin Identification Code on a manufactured plastic article does not imply that the article is recycled or that there are systems in place to effectively process the article for reclamation or re-use. The term “recyclable” or other environmental claims shall not be placed in proximity to the Code.  
4.3 This practice is based upon the system developed in 1988 by the Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc (SPI). It is possible that some states or countries will have incorporated the original SPI practice into statute or regulation. In those situations, that statute or regulation takes precedence over this standard.  
4.4 This practice shall only apply to new tooling. Existing molds that already incorporate older versions of the SPI RIC may be modified, but modification is not required.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice stipulates the types, names, and sizes of Codes for those material types specified in Table 1.  
1.2 The values stated in either SI units or inch-pound units are to be regarded separately as standard. The values stated in each system are likely not to be exact equivalents; therefore, each system shall be used independently of the other. Combining values from the two systems is likely to result in non-conformance with the standard.  
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.
Note 1: There is no known ISO equivalent to this standard.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
Presence of paper, metal, or incompatible polymer contamination in poly(ethylene terephthalate) renders the recycled polymer unfit for use in secondary product manufacturing operations. This procedure is useful for identifying different types of contamination in recycled PET flakes.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice covers an indication of the quality of recycled transparent poly(ethylene terephthalate) by examination of a wafer or plaque formed by melting a representative sample and quenching it to prevent crystallization.
1.2 Specific contaminants and impurities such as aluminum particles, dirt particles, paper, and fibers are identified in the transparent wafer.
1.3 The overall color of the plaque is indicative of oxidizable contaminants such as ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) glue residue and the number of bubbles present in the plaque gives an indication of the moisture content of the sample.
1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. Specific precautionary statements are given in Section 8.  
Note 1—There is no known ISO equivalent to this standard.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
Resin Identification Codes are used solely to identify the plastic resin used in a manufactured article.
Resin Identification Codes are not “recycle codes.” The use of a Resin Identification Code on a manufactured plastic article does not imply that the article is recycled or that there are systems in place to effectively process the article for reclamation or re-use. The term “recyclable” or other environmental claims shall not be placed in proximity to the Code.
This practice is based upon the system developed in 1988 by the Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc (SPI).
SCOPE
1.1 This practice stipulates the types, names and sizes of Codes for those material types specified in Table 1.
1.2 The values stated in either SI units or inch-pound units are to be regarded separately as standard. The values stated in each system are likely not to be exact equivalents; therefore, each system shall be used independently of the other. Combining values from the two systems is likely to result in non-conformance with the standard.
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.
Note 1—There is no known ISO equivalent to this standard.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
Problems with extrusion and subsequent processing of the material are caused, in part, by the presence of paper, metal, gels, incompatible polymers, or other extraneous contamination found in polymers.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice covers a means to separate the unmolten particles, gels, and impurities contaminating a polymer sample. The procedure may be used to remove gels and incompatible materials that may cause imperfections in the final extruded product. Under pressure, most gels will break up or deform and pass through a wire mesh filter, however high molecular weight gels may not break up or deform.
1.2 If desired, materials isolated on a wire mesh filter can subsequently be identified by spectroscopic or other analytical means.
Note 1—Although not presented as a quantitative method, the procedure presented in this practice may be used to provide quantitative results at the discretion of the user. The user assumes the responsibility to verify the reproducibility of quantitative results. Detection limit depends on the mesh size of the filter screen, but the procedure is generally applicable to the separation of immiscible contaminants present at concentrations greater than 0.1 %.
1.3 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard.
1.4 This standard does not purport to address the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. For specific hazards statements, see Section 8.
Note 2—There is no known ISO equivalent to this practice.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
Dirt, paper and mixtures of polymeric materials complicate the interpretation of data from procedures used to identify and, if desired, quantify the contaminants in recycled plastics.
SCOPE
1.1 The practice describes a procedure for separating recycled plastics based on their color (for example, green versus colorless) and a procedure for washing dirty, ground plastic which results in separation of light materials (density  1.00 g/cm3). This practice is not intended to represent generic washing procedures used in the plastics recycling industry. The described procedures are solely for preparation of plastic samples for use in other analytical tests. The procedure includes a room temperature wash step to facilitate separation of paper (for example, labels) followed by washing at an elevated temperature.
Note 1—Although not presented as a quantitative method, the procedure presented in this practice may be used to provide quantitative results. The user assumes the responsibility to verify the reproducibility of quantitative results.
1.2 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as the standard.
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.
Note 2—There is no known ISO equivalent to this practice.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
Presence of even low concentrations of PVC in recycled PET flakes may result in equipment corrosion problems during processing. The level of PVC contamination may also dictate the market for use of the recycled polymer in secondary products. Procedures presented in this practice are used to identify and, if desired, estimate the concentration of PVC contamination in recycled PET flakes.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice covers four procedures for separation and qualitative identification of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) contamination in poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) flakes.  
Note 1—Although not presented as a quantitative method, procedures presented in this practice may be used to provide quantitative results at the discretion of the user. The user assumes the responsibility to verify the reproducibility of quantitative results. Data from an independent source suggest a PVC detection level of 200 ppm (w/w) based on an original sample weight of 454 g.
1.2 Procedure A is based on different fluorescence of PVC and PET when these polymers are exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light.
1.3 Procedure B is an oven test based upon the charring of PVC when it is heated in air at 235°C.
1.4 Procedures C and D are dye tests based on differential staining of PVC and PET.  
Note 2—Other polymers (for example, PETG) also absorb the stain or brightener. Such interferences will result in false positive identification of PVC as the contaminant.
1.5 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. For specific hazards see Section 8.  
Note 3—There is no known ISO equivalent to this practice.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
Presence of paper, metal, gels, incompatible polymer, or other extraneous contamination in polymers, including recycled polymers, may cause problems with extrusion and subsequent processing of the material. This procedure is useful for separating gross contaminants from polymers. For example, the procedure is useful for determining the quality of resins to be used in fiber applications. If desired, the isolated contaminants may be subsequently identified by the appropriate visual or instrumental procedures.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice covers a means to separate the unmolten particles, gels, and impurities contaminating a polymer sample. The procedure may be used to remove gels and incompatible materials that may cause imperfections in the final extruded product. Under pressure, most gels will break up or deform and pass through a wire mesh filter, however high molecular weight gels may not break up or deform.
1.2 If desired, materials isolated on a wire mesh filter can subsequently be identified by spectroscopic or other analytical means.
Note 1—Although not presented as a quantitative method, the procedure presented in this practice may be used to provide quantitative results at the discretion of the user. The user assumes the responsibility to verify the reproducibility of quantitative results. Detection limit depends on the mesh size of the filter screen, but the procedure is generally applicable to the separation of immiscible contaminants present at concentrations greater than 0.1 %.
1.3 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as the standard.
1.4 This standard does not purport to address the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. For specific hazards statements, see Section 8.
Note 2—There is no equivalent ISO standard.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
Dirt, paper and mixtures of polymeric materials complicate the interpretation of data from procedures used to identify and, if desired, quantify the contaminants in recycled plastics.
SCOPE
1.1 The practice describes a procedure for separating recycled plastics based on their color (for example, green versus colorless) and a procedure for washing dirty, ground plastic which results in separation of light materials (density
Note 1—Although not presented as a quantitative method, the procedure presented in this practice may be used to provide quantitative results. The user assumes the responsibility to verify the reproducibility of quantitative results.
1.2 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as the standard.
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.Note 2—There is no equivalent ISO standard.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
Recycled plastic materials may contain incompatible plastic or other undesirable contaminants that could affect the processing or quality, or both, of the plastic prepared for reuse. Techniques to separate and identify incompatible plastics, moisture, chemicals, or original product residues, and solid contaminants such as metals, paper, glass, and wood are essential to the processing of recycled plastic materials.
This guide lists existing ASTM and ISO methods plus currently practiced industrial techniques for identification and classification of contaminants in recycled plastics flake or pellets.
SCOPE
1.1 This guide is intended to provide information on available methods for the separation and classification of contaminants such as moisture, incompatible polymers, metals, adhesives, glass, paper, wood, chemicals, and original-product residues in recycled plastic flakes or pellets. Although no specific methods for identification or characterization of foam products are included, foam products are not excluded from this guide. The methods presented apply to post-consumer plastics.
1.2 For specific procedures existing as ASTM test methods, this guide only lists the appropriate reference. Where no current ASTM standard exists, however, this guide gives procedures for the separation or identification, or both, of specific contaminants. lists the tests and the specific contaminant addressed by each procedure.
1.3 This guide does not include procedures to quantify the contaminants unless this information is available in referenced ASTM standards.
1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.
Note 1—Although this guide references ISO standards, there is no similar or equivalent ISO standard covering this topic.

SCOPE
1.1 This practice covers a system for uniform marking of products that have been fabricated from polymeric materials. Provision for the process or processes to be used for marking is outside the scope of this practice.
Note 1--Precise details of the marking, for example, the minimum size of the item to be marked, the size of the lettering, and the appropriate location of the marking, may be the subject to agreement between the manufacturer and the user.
1.2 The abbreviated terms used are to provide generic identification of the polymer(s).
1.3 This practice is especially pertinent for use with durable plastic components of products. This practice is not intended to supplant, replace, or in any way interfere with the requirements found in legislation for marking or labeling of packaging.
1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.
Note 2--In many respects, this practice is similar to ISO 11469.

SCOPE
1.1 This practice covers a system for uniform marking of products that have been fabricated from polymeric materials. Provision for the process or processes to be used for marking is outside the scope of this practice.
Note 1--Precise details of the marking, for example, the minimum size of the item to be marked, the size of the lettering, and the appropriate location of the marking, may be the subject to agreement between the manufacturer and the user.
1.2 The abbreviated terms used are to provide generic identification of the polymer(s).
1.3 This practice is especially pertinent for use with durable plastic components of products. This practice is not intended to supplant, replace, or in any way interfere with the requirements found in legislation for marking or labeling of packaging.
1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.
Note 2--In many respects, this practice is similar to ISO 11469.

SCOPE
1.1 The practice describes a procedure for separating recycled plastics based on their color (for example, green versus colorless) and a procedure for washing dirty, ground plastic which results in separation of light materials (density < 1.00 g/cm3). This practice is not intended to represent generic washing procedures used in the plastics recycling industry. The described procedures are solely for preparation of plastic samples for use in other analytical tests. The procedure includes a room temperature wash step to facilitate separation of paper (for example, labels) followed by washing at an elevated temperature.
Note 1-Although not presented as a quantitative method, the procedure presented in this practice may be used to provide quantitative results. The user assumes the responsibility to verify the reproducibility of quantitative results.
1.2 The values state in SI units are to be regarded as the standard.
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.
Note 2-There is no equivalent ISO standard.

SCOPE
1.1 This practice covers a means to separate the unmolten particles, gels, and impurities contaminating a polymer sample. The procedure may be used to remove gels and incompatible materials that may cause imperfections in the final extruded product. Under pressure, most gels will break up or deform and pass through a wire mesh filter, however high molecular weight gels may not break up or deform.
1.2 If desired, materials isolated on a wire mesh filter can subsequently be identified by spectroscopic or other analytical means.
Note 1-Although not presented as a quantitative method, the procedure presented in this practice may be used to provide quantitative results at the discretion of the user. The user assumes the responsibility to verify the reproducibility of quantitative results. Detection limit depends on the mesh size of the filter screen, but the procedure is generally applicable to the separation of immiscible contaminants present at concentrations greater than 0.1%.
1.3 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as the standard.
1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. For specific hazards statements, see Section 8.
Note 2-There is no equivalent ISO standard.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
Presence of even low concentrations of PVC in recycled PET flakes may result in equipment corrosion problems during processing. The level of PVC contamination may also dictate the market for use of the recycled polymer in secondary products. Procedures presented in this practice are used to identify and, if desired, estimate the concentration of PVC contamination in recycled PET flakes.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice covers four procedures for separation and qualitative identification of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) contamination in poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) flakes.
Note 1—Although not presented as a quantitative method, procedures presented in this practice may be used to provide quantitative results at the discretion of the user. The user assumes the responsibility to verify the reproducibility of quantitative results. Data from an independent source suggest a PVC detection level of 200 ppm (w/w) based on an original sample weight of 454 g.
1.2 Procedure A is based on different fluorescence of PVC and PET when these polymers are exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light.
1.3 Procedure B is an oven test based upon the charring of PVC when it is heated in air at 235C.
1.4 Procedures C and D are dye tests based on differential staining of PVC and PET.
Note 2—Other polymers (for example, PETG) also absorb the stain or brightener. Such interferences will result in false positive identification of PVC as the contaminant.
1.5 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. For specific hazards see Section 8.
Note 3—There is no equivalent ISO standard.

SCOPE
1.1 This guide is intended to provide information on available methods for the separation and classification of contaminants such as moisture, incompatible polymers, metals, adhesives, glass, paper, wood, chemicals, and original-product residues in recycled plastic flakes or pellets. Although no specific methods for identification or characterization of foam products are included, foam products are not excluded from this guide. The methods presented apply to post-consumer plastics.
1.2 For specific procedures existing as ASTM test methods, this guide only lists the appropriate reference. Where no current ASTM standard exists, however, this guide gives procedures for the separation or identification, or both, of specific contaminants. Appendix X1 lists the tests and the specific contaminant addressed by each procedure.
1.3 This guide does not include procedures to quantify the contaminants unless this information is available in referenced ASTM standards.
1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.  Note 1-Although this guide references ISO standards, there is no similar or equivalent ISO standard covering this topic.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
This guide is intended for use by committees or agencies concerned with the development of standards related to recycling, waste reduction, and resource recovery. Such standards are expected to provide uniform, standardized approaches by specifiers, codes, authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs), and consumers.
It is anticipated that more specific guides or standards are being or will be developed to address specific requirements.
SCOPE
1.1 This guide provides information for the development of standards (guides, practices, terminology, test methods, or specifications) relating to plastics recycling and other means of waste reductions and resource recovery.
1.2 This guide is directed to consumer, commercial, and industrial sources of thermoplastics and thermoset polymeric materials.
1.3 This guide addresses terminology, performance standards, specifications, quality assurance, separation or segregation of product by classes, identification and marking of generic classes, contaminants, fillers, designing for recycle, degradable products, reconstituted products, biobased resins, certification and percentages of recycled products, and other methods of waste reduction and resource recovery.
1.4 This guide does not address parameters or factors involving the original manufacture of virgin polymers or the fabrication of consumer products from these virgin polymers.
1.5 This guide is intended to replace Guide D 5033.
This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.Note 1
There is no equivalent ISO standard. ISO/DIS 15270 is similar in scope and content.
WITHDRAWN RATIONALE
This guide provides information for the development of standards (guides, practices, terminology, test methods, or specifications) relating to plastics recycling and other means of waste reductions and resource recovery.
Formerly under the jurisdiction of Committee D20 on Plastics, this guide was withdrawn in January 2015 in accordance with section 10.6.3 of the Regulations Governing ASTM Technical Committees, which requires that standards shall be updated by the end of the eighth year since the last approval date.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
This marking system is to provide assistance in identification of products for making subsequent decisions as to handling, recycling, or disposal.
The system is based on standard abbreviated terms relating to plastics published in the ISO 1043 series of standards and in ASTM D 1600.
A system for expanded generic marking is described in nonmandatory Appendix X1.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice covers a system for uniform marking of products that have been fabricated from polymeric materials. Provision for the process or processes to be used for marking is outside the scope of this practice.
Note 1—Precise details of the marking, for example, the minimum size of the item to be marked, the size of the lettering, and the appropriate location of the marking, may be subject to agreement between the manufacturer and the user.
1.2 The abbreviated terms used are to provide generic identification of the polymer(s).
1.3 This practice is especially pertinent for use with durable plastic components of products. This practice is not intended to supplant, replace, or in any way interfere with the requirements found in legislation for marking or labeling of packaging.
This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.
Note 2—In many respects, this practice is similar to ISO 11469.
WITHDRAWN RATIONALE
This practice covered a system for uniform marking of products that have been fabricated from polymeric materials. Provision for the process or processes to be used for marking is outside the scope of this practice.
Formerly under the jurisdiction of Committee D20 on Plastics, this practice was withdrawn in January 2014 in accordance with section 10.6.3 of the Regulations Governing ASTM Technical Committees, which requires that standards shall be updated by the end of the eighth year since the last approval date.