Why per-batch traceability is the new currency in recycled plastics
Buyers no longer trust generic 'recycled content' claims. Here is what they want instead — and how PolyAl delivers it.
Five years ago, "made with recycled plastic" on a label was enough. In 2026 it is a red flag. Procurement teams want batch-level numbers.
What buyers actually ask now
- Which specific batch of recycled feedstock went into this part number?
- What were that batch's MFI, density, ash content, tensile strength?
- Where was the post-consumer waste collected geographically?
- Which certified recycler processed it?
- What is the mass balance from waste input to pellet output?
The questions read like a food traceability audit because that is exactly the regulatory model spreading across packaging.
Why generic recycled pellets struggle
Most post-consumer recycled supply is blended at the pellet level. Mixed feedstock, mixed colours, mixed origins. By the time the buyer asks "where did this come from?", the answer is "twenty places, we cannot say".
Why PolyAl is different
Single-source feedstock — beverage cartons, identifiable. Each 10-tonne batch carries a per-batch technical sheet. The chain of custody runs from carton recycler to pellet plant to your loading bay, with each stage documented.
When a CSRD auditor asks the question, you have an answer that fits in one PDF — and that is increasingly the difference between winning and losing the contract.