Why Certification Matters
Consumers expect brands to support their sustainability claims with real, verified action. Plastic Collective’s certification badges signal our brands’ investment as part of their sustainability strategy in the impact of high integrity plastic recovery and recycling projects operating in the world’s pollution hotspots.
Our certification badges are underpinned by the Verra Plastic Waste Reduction Standard and the ZPO Ocean Bound Plastic (OBP) Standards, the leading global standards for plastic waste recovery and recycling projects.
Verra is recognised as a leading environmental standard setter, providing the world’s most trusted certification frameworks for plastic waste recovery and recycling. Their Plastic Waste Reduction Standard ensures that projects meet strict criteria for transparency, impact, and accountability, giving brands confidence that their sustainability claims are credible and measurable.The ZPO Ocean Bound Plastic (OBP) Standards focus on the certification of plastic collection and recycling efforts near coastal areas. These standards ensure that plastic collected within 50km of oceans and waterways is properly managed and reprocessed, preventing it from becoming marine pollution.
Plastic Collective only works with certified projects, and its investment in the work of these projects that brands are signalling every time they use our badges. Each badge provides clear, measurable proof that your brand is making a difference. With 10 badge options, you can showcase your sustainability efforts quickly in a way that resonates with your customers and stakeholders.
How to Use Your Badge to Amplify Your Impact
✅ Use on product packaging – Show customers your sustainability commitment at the point of purchase.
✅ Feature across marketing & social media – Reinforce your impact in brand messaging.
✅Display on your website & reports – Build transparency and credibility with stakeholders.
And the best part? We provide marketing support, a communications toolkit, and ongoing guidance to help you maximise your impact.
Types of Plastic Collective Certification Badges
Collective offers three categories of badges, giving brands flexibility to showcase their sustainability efforts in the way that best resonates with their customers and stakeholders. These three categories are:
1️⃣ Standard Badges – Certify your investment in plastic collection or offsetting.
2️⃣ Impact Badges – Highlight the specific environmental benefit of your plastic recovery efforts.
3️⃣ Bottle Equivalent Badges – Provide a consumer-friendly way to communicate impact in plastic bottles rather than weight (tonnes).
Standard Badges: Certify Your Brand’s Plastic Action
1. Plastic collected Per Year
This badge signals that a brand has invested in a specific volume of plastic collection activity undertaken by a certified project each year. It is our simplest badge option, requiring no footprint calculation.
✔ Certifies your brand is investing in the impact of plastic collection projects operating in the world’s pollution hotspots.
✔ No plastic footprint estimate required, just immediate, verified impact.
Best for: Brands wanting a fast, verifiable way to prove their sustainability efforts.
2. Plastic collected Per Product
This badge signals that a brand has invested in a specific volume of collection activity undertaken by a certified project and matched it to the number of products it sells each year. For example, if Cosmetics Company ABC sells 10,000 shampoo bottles in 2024 and they invest in 100 tonnes of certified collection activity, then this company will be investing in the collection of 10kg of plastic waste for every shampoo bottle sold in 2024.
✔ Collects plastic per unit sold, making it easy to link impact to product sales.
✔ Requires sales data to be provided for verification.
Best for: Brands that want to make plastic impact on every sale
3. Net Zero Plastic Collected
This badge is for brands that have estimated their Plastic Footprint, i.e. the amount of plastic being used across the brand’s supply chain in its products, packaging and general operations (e.g. office supplies). When the Plastic Footprint is known, a brand can then match its impact investment in certified collection activity to the size of its Plastic Footprint.
✔ Certifies that your brand is investing in the collection of plastic waste equivalent to its Plastic Footprint.
✔ Requires a brand to estimate its Plastic Footprint to determine exact plastic use.
Best for: Brands looking to directly relate their plastic use to corresponding on-the-ground collection activity in the world’s pollution hot spots.
4. Net Zero Plastic Recycled
This badge is also for brands that have estimated their Plastic Footprint and it builds on the above ‘Net Zero Plastic Collected’ badge. That is, if a brand has invested in collection activity equivalent to its Plastic Footprint and then also invests in recycling activity equivalent to its Plastic Footprint, it can make the ‘Net Zero Plastic Recycled’ claim and use this badge.
✔ Certifies that your brand is investing in both the collection and recycling of plastic waste equivalent to its full Plastic Footprint.
✔ Requires a brand to estimate its Plastic Footprint Audit to determine exact plastic use.
Best for: Brands looking to directly relate their plastic use to corresponding on-the-ground collection and recycling activity in the world’s pollution hot spots.
Impact Badges: Showcase Specific Environmental Impact
We’re devoting all this energy to removing plastic from the environment because we understand the deleterious effects it has on marine and land ecosystems, and human and animal health. Impact Badges highlight the direct environmental benefits of plastic recovery efforts, allowing brands to communicate this impact in a clear and meaningful way. These badges are ideal for companies looking to showcase their investment in impact through an environmental lens in their marketing, packaging, and reports.
5. Plastic Removed from Nature Per Year
This badge is equivalent to badge 1 above; it signals that a brand has invested in a specific volume of plastic collection activity undertaken by a certified project each year. But rather than state this impact in the basic terms of tonnes collected, it is (re)stated in terms of removal from nature.
✔ Verifies your brand’s role in removing plastic from marine and land environments.
✔ No plastic footprint estimate required, just immediate, verified impact.
Best for: Brands looking to communicate through an environmental impact lens.
6. Plastic Prevented from Entering the Ocean Per Year
This badge is also equivalent to badge 1 above, but provides a more specific tailoring for brands that have a strong focus on oceans. We know that around 11 million tonnes of plastic enters the oceans each year. As noted above, Plastic Collective works with projects that are certified under the ZPO OBP Collection Standard which certifies that the plastic has been collected from within 50km of oceans and waterways. So the badge signals that a brand has invested in a specific volume of OBP plastic collection activity where the plastic collected was at high risk of entering the ocean.
✔ Verifies your brand’s role in preventing plastic from entering oceans.
✔ No plastic footprint estimate required, just immediate, verified impact.
Best for: Companies focused on oceans and wanting to highlight its preventative impact in marketing communications.
7. Plastic Diverted from Landfill Per Year
This badge signals that a brand has invested in a specific volume of plastic recycling activity undertaken by a certified project each year. But rather than state this impact in the basic terms of tonnes recycled, it is stated in terms of diversion from landfill (and into a recycling facility) . This reflects the fact that most collected plastic waste ends up in landfill which means that its potential economic value as recycled feedstock is lost forever. Just 9% of plastic waste is actually recycled globally. And landfill is not always an appropriate end destination, if not properly managed the plastic leaks from landfills into nature. Many landfills operate beyond capacity, creating fire and air quality hazards.
✔ Certifies your brand is investing in the impact of plastic recycling projects operating in the world’s pollution hotspots.
✔ Reinforces your brand’s to responsible disposal and to increasing circularity in plastic supply chains.
✔ No plastic footprint estimate required, just immediate, verified impact.
Best for: Brands focussing on circular economy initiatives.
Bottle Equivalent Badges: A Consumer-Friendly Way to Communicate Impact
Bottle Equivalent Badges help brands express their plastic impact in a relatable way by converting plastic waste recovered into the equivalent number of plastic bottles. These badges are particularly effective for consumer-focused brands looking for simple, engaging messaging. We make this conversion on the basis of scientific research which indicates an average PET bottle weighs 17 grams.
8. Bottles Removed from Nature
This badge is equivalent to Badge 5 above; it signals that a brand has invested in a specific volume of plastic collection activity undertaken by a certified project each year but this impact is re-stated in terms of the equivalent bottles removal from nature. For example, if Cosmetics Company ABC has invested in 100 tonnes of certified collection activity in 2024, then this company will be investing in the collection of an equivalent 5,882,353 PET bottles.
✔ Express your brand’s impact to customers in a relatable way (plastic bottles equivalent instead of tonnes).
✔ Verifies your brand’s role in removing plastic from marine and land environments.
✔ No plastic footprint estimate required, just immediate, verified impact.
Best for: Brands looking for simple, powerful messaging.
9. Bottles Prevented from Entering the Ocean
Like badge 6, this badge provides a more specific tailoring for brands that have a strong focus on oceans, signaling that a brand has invested in a specific volume of OBP plastic collection activity where the plastic collected was at high risk of entering the ocean. And then this impact is re-stated in terms of the equivalent bottles removal from nature, as per badge 8 above.
✔ Verifies your brand’s role in preventing plastic from entering oceans – as a plastic bottle equivalent.
✔ No plastic footprint estimate required, just immediate, verified impact.
Best for: Food and beverage brands looking for ocean-focused sustainability claims.
10. Bottles Diverted from Landfill
Like badge 7, this badge signals that a brand has invested in a specific volume of plastic recycling activity undertaken by a certified project each year. But rather than state this impact in the basic terms of tonnes recycled, it is stated in terms of equivalent PET bottles diverted from landfill (and into a recycling facility). If Soda Company XYZ has invested in 200 tonnes of certified recycling activity in 2024, then this company will be investing in the diversion from landfill and recycling of an equivalent 11,764,706 PET bottles.
✔ Certifies your brand is investing in the impact of plastic recycling projects operating in the world’s pollution hotspots.
✔ Represents how many equivalent plastic bottles were saved from landfill and recycled.
✔ Reinforces your brand’s role in waste reduction and responsible disposal and to increase circularity in plastic supply chains.
✔ No plastic footprint estimate required, just immediate, verified impact.
Best for: Food and beverage brands focussing on promoting circular economy initiatives.
How to Get Certified & Showcase Your Impact
Plastic Collective’s certification process is simple and accessible for brands of all sizes.
1️⃣ Select your badge – Choose a certification that aligns with your brand’s plastic reduction efforts. We can help you estimate your plastic footprint if needed.
2️⃣ Decide on your plastic recovery and recycling volumes – Determine how much plastic your brand wants to match with on-the-ground recovery and or recycling activity each year.
3️⃣ Fund plastic impact – Finance plastic collection and recycling efforts through our Verra-certified projects.
4️⃣ Receive your certification – Start using your badge across packaging, marketing, and communications to showcase your impact.
Why Partner with Plastic Collective?
✅ We work only with projects certified under leading global environmental standards – Ensures credibility, transparency and eliminates risk of greenwashing.
✅ Marketing & communications support – We help you integrate your badge across your website, packaging, and social media.
✅ Strengthens consumer trust – Demonstrates real, measurable impact.
✅ Customisable to your sustainability goals – Choose a certification that aligns with your brand’s mission and messaging.
Start Your Certification Journey Today
Join the growing movement of businesses that are turning sustainability into credible, transparent and verifiable impact. Let’s take action and work together to make plastic recovery a standard, not an exception.
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