Blue Angel
The Blue Angel ecolabel is a useful tool to communicate the use of recycled plastic in products.
Blue Angel: this German ecolabel has been establishing high standards for designing environmentally friendly products for 45 years and has proved to be a reliable, transparent communication tool on products for more sustainable consumption. The reuse of these polymers/materials instead of virgin materials with a view to saving resources is an aim of environmental policy and the ecolabel.
The Blue Angel ecolabel can be awarded to finished products and semi-finished products made of recycled plastics. Examples of finished products that can be awarded this Blue Angel ecolabel include:
- Office equipment product (e.g. letter trays/drawers).
- Rubbish and recycling bins.
- Buckets, plastic pots and containers, watering cans.
- Garden tables and chairs or similar.
- Palisades, fences, lawn grids.
- Compost silos and composters.
- Film and sheet products, such as rubbish and carrier bags, protective films and tarpaulins.
A requirement to qualify for this certification is that your product contains at least 80% post-consumer recycled content and that the total product contains at least 90% plastic.
This ecolabel guarantees that a product has less impact on the environment due to its high recycled material content and meets stringent standards in terms of the protection of human health while having the same suitability for use and quality as other products.
This scheme is also focused on studying and validating the traceability of the conversion process and verifying that at least 80% of the material used and included in the process is recycled. All this is validated at an on-site audit on the company’s premises.
How to get certified
AIMPLAS is an auditor and has a group of employees accredited under the certifying body who are able to carry out these audits. Please contact us for more information.
Benefits
Blue Angel only certifies the best products of a specific product group. The scientific criteria for these products was developed by the German Environment Agency. Each Blue Angel product group has its own basic award criteria containing individual requirements that need to be verified accordingly.
Standards
To obtain this certification, different tests must be performed to demonstrate the environmental quality of the PCR material from which the final product is manufactured. The applicant must therefore submit the following compliance checks based on a random sample of PCR material:
- The phthalate concentrations in the material must be determined for soft and flexible plastic materials based on a test report in accordance with EN ISO 18856, EN 14602 or an equivalent method.
- The halogen content (chlorine and bromine) must be determined by non-destructive spectroscopic measurements in accordance with DIN EN 62321-3-1:2014-10.
- In the case of hard PVC, the concentration of cadmium and lead must be determined using a suitable decomposition method and subsequent measurement by ICP-OES (optical emission spectrometry) or ICP-MS (mass spectrometry).
AIMPLAS laboratories can carry out all these tests and provide the customer with the results to obtain certification.
FAQ
No. This label is not based on standard UNE EN-15343 so you cannot deduct part of the tax. But the advantage is that it does allow you to demonstrate your transparency with customers and provide details on the percentage of recycled material.
These tests should be provided by the PCR provider, but because they are not mandatory tests, the PCR provider is not obliged to do so. In that case, AIMPLAS is able to perform all these tests and can quickly provide the results.
No. Recycled material includes only post-consumer material.
Yes. Certification is only granted if the recycled material is certified by EuCertPlast or RecyClass Recycling Process.
Certifications
