Projects · Open data
Open Data Standard for Plastics
A free, non-proprietary standard for describing the plastics found in packaging and waste electronics, so that manufacturers, brands, recyclers, and regulators can share consistent data about materials, products, and where they go at end of life.
66
page specification, version 1.0
15
controlled vocabularies
3
data formats: JSON, XML, CSV
Free
no fees or licensing
Why it matters
Plastics data that everyone can read the same way
Decisions about packaging and electronics, from eco-modulated EPR fees to recyclability claims and recycled-content targets, depend on data about what products are made of and what happens to them. Today that data sits in incompatible formats across producers, retailers, service providers, and regulators, and the same term can mean different things in different systems.
An open data standard fixes the language rather than the software. It defines common entities, identifiers, and controlled vocabularies so that data can move between organizations and platforms without being re-interpreted along the way. That makes material flows more transparent, reporting more accurate, and claims easier to verify.
How it works
From base material to end-of-life route
The standard models plastics as a hierarchy, with each level built from the one below it and each record carrying a unique identifier (UUID):
1
Base materials and materials
The polymers and material blends that products are made from.
2
Components
Caps, labels, films, trays, and other parts, with properties such as colour, opacity, flexibility, and shape.
3
Complete products and multipacks
Finished packaging and products, assembled from their components.
4
Loads
Shipments and collections, so material can be followed through the system.
5
Controlled lists
Fifteen shared vocabularies, including end-of-life routes, reuse systems, deposit return, certifications, and recycled-content evidence.
6
Claims
Relationship lists that tie recyclability, certification, and recycled-content claims to the products they describe.
Design principles
Open by design
Publicly available
The documentation is freely accessible to anyone, with no restrictions or fees.
Non-proprietary
Not owned or controlled by any single organization; anyone can implement it.
Royalty-free
Can be adopted without licensing fees or royalties.
Platform-independent
Works across systems without depending on specific technologies or vendors.
Extensible
Built to expand as industry and regulatory needs evolve.
Implementation-agnostic
Focuses on data interoperability rather than prescribing a technical build.
Who it is for
One data language across the value chain
Manufacturers
Describe materials and components consistently to support sourcing, design, and recycling.
Brands and retailers
Report packaging data once, in a format regulators and partners can use, and substantiate recyclability and recycled-content claims.
Regulators and EPR programs
Standardize reporting and improve the accuracy of the data behind fees and performance measures.
Recyclers and service providers
Improve traceability of material through sorting and end-of-life routes.
Researchers and NGOs
Work from comparable, well-defined data when evaluating policy and industry performance.
Get started
Using the standard
Read the specification to learn the entities and vocabularies; map your existing data to them; assign identifiers and apply the controlled lists; then share data in JSON, XML, or CSV. The standard is designed to evolve, and feedback from organizations applying it is welcome.
Prepared by Dr. Calvin Lakhan with Jainam Shah, Circular Innovation Hub, Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, York University.
Part of a wider research portfolio
This is one of the Hub’s active projects. See everything we are working on, or browse our publications.