ARCs to avoid a flood of plastic waste: the Recycled Material Standard

The Recycled Material Standard (RMS) is a voluntary standard that aims to incentivize the creation of additional recycling capacity and to enable a wider spectrum of companies to make claims about recycling. At present, the geographic scope is limited to North America, which lags behind Europe in recycling infrastructure. RMS could become a pathway to bridging critical gaps in the circular economy, although its success will depend partly on educating consumers about a system that is not as intuitive as typical recycled content claims. This insight draws on discussions with RMS Director Laura Thompson. See our other insights on mass balance and recycling credits for more on the circular economy.