What is the purpose of the Ocean Bound Neutrality certifications?
Created by Zero Plastic Oceans, the Ocean Bound Plastic Neutrality certifications enable the organizations – in charge of collecting and treating non-commercially* recyclable OBP – to issue and sell third-party verified plastic credits (called OBP credits). It also allows the organizations buying these credits to have their neutrality claims certified. These certifications target non-commercially recyclable OBP waste.
To certify these complementary activities, this certification subprogram uses two certification standards:
- The OBP Neutralization Services Provider Standard which covers the collection, waste management and plastic credit verification.
- The OBP Plastic Producers & Users Standard which covers the compensation of a plastic footprint through plastic credits purchase.
Collection organizations willing to provide enhanced social benefits to waste pickers and their own employees can additionally use the Social+ OBP Component
* non-commercially recyclable refers to an OBP waste that has no value to waste pickers or collection organizations as recyclers cannot sell it at a price that covers the cost of collection (or cannot be sold at all).
Who can apply?
To issue plastic credits (OBP credits):
To certify an offset **:
What is being verified and certified?
The certification guarantees the respect of social, environmental, quality and traceability criteria:
- no child labour
- fair working conditions
- fair payments to the waste pickers
- adequate waste management
- having a quality management system
- respect of OBP collection criteria from the first level of collection
- traceability of certified OBP all along its journey
- traceability and certainty of issued plastic credits (OBP credits)
- verification of plastic footprint determination and offsets execution
How to get the Ocean Bound Plastic Neutrality certification and label?
For improved transparency and guaranteeing the absence of conflict of interest, OBP certifications are delivered by independent certification bodies that are approved by ZPO, but not by ZPO itself. To get certified, please contact a certification body from the list available here .