Update 27 April: Please note the Plastic Standard Public Consultation has now closed.  

More than 350 million tons of plastic are being used every year and just a fraction of this is being recycled. There is a clear need to scale up recovery and recycling activities and increase accountability for plastic waste reduction efforts.

The 3R Initiative is developing a market-based approach to transparently and sustainably increase the value of plastic waste and incentivize new activities that support the circular economy. We invite you to comment on the draft Plastic Recovery and Recycling Project Accounting Standard (Plastic Standard) that will underpin the 3R Initiative’s market mechanism. This public consultation period was open for 60 days, from 26 February until 26 April.

The Plastic Standard will be used to create the greatest possible value for local plastic waste recovery and recycling activities while helping corporates to meet their zero plastic waste goals. It will enable transparent assessment, verification and reporting on the amount of plastic waste recovered or recycled (which may be issued as credits) and environmental and social responsibility requirements.

Public comments on the draft Plastic Standard will help ensure that it is practical for use by all types of plastic waste recovery and recycling activities and that it meets corporates’ needs. We invite anyone involved or interested in plastic waste recovery and recycling activities, as well as private and public entities interested in directing financial support to such activities, to review the document.

We will be using the Collaborase software to facilitate gathering your comments. This web-based software allows multiple reviewers to leave comments at the same time and supports users with built-in commenting features.

You can also visit our website for more information about the consultation and/or to submit comments via email.

To facilitate your comments, we are offering two webinars that will provide an overview of the Plastic Standard and explain how to comment via the Collaborase platform. Please register for the webinar session you’d like to attend using the links below. Recordings of the webinars will be uploaded on the Verra website.

    • 5 March, 6 PM – 7:30 PM EST.
    • 26 March, 11 AM – 12 PM EDT.

The public comment period is open from 26 February until 26 April 2020. Thank you very much, and we look forward to your feedback.

*For a useful tool to help with time zones, click here.