Meaning
European standards for environmental management establish detailed procedures for establishing chain of custody in post-consumer plastic recycling. Compliance with din en 15343 requires resin processors to document every transfer of mechanical recyclate from source collection to final compound pellet. The framework specifies input characterization protocols, mass balance calculation methods, and quality control thresholds for recycled content verification.
Operations failing chain of custody audits cannot claim compliance under this standard.
Traceability Protocol
Material verification starts at the sorting facility where raw waste streams undergo separation into target polymer fractions. Under din en 15343, each lot of incoming bale material receives a tracking identifier that follows the resin through shredding and melt filtration steps. Mass balance accounting logs process losses across wash lines, preventing artificial inflation of recycled content percentages on commercial datasheets.
Discrepancies between physical inventory yields and logged mass flows invalidate batch certification documents.
Feedstock Audit
Characterization procedures isolate physical contaminants and organic residues prior to melt compounding. Testing under din en 15343 mandates melt flow rate determinations alongside density measurements to verify lot homogeneity across shipments. Variations in contamination levels alter the shear viscosity of reprocessed resins, forcing molders to adjust injection pressure profiles to avoid short shots or sink marks.
Automated melt filtration systems extract particulate matter down to specified micron limits, protecting mold surfaces and maintaining part tensile strength.
Batch Valuation
Commercial pricing of secondary resin depends directly on verified purity levels and audit compliance documentation. Certified batches following din en 15343 command price premiums over uncertified regrind because molders avoid costly tooling damage caused by unmapped metallic inclusions or cross-polymer contamination. Recycled polyolefins carrying certified chain of custody documentation allow compounders to formulate post-consumer blends that satisfy engineering specifications without risking sudden drops in impact resistance.
Uncertified lot blending increases factory scrap rates during injection molding due to unpredictable thermal degradation during processing runs. Molders relying on unverified scrap risk severe wall thickness variations and unexpected sink marks in final components.
