The thousand lives
of plastics
It was IPPR’s idea to create, first in Italy and in Europe, an eco-label for recycled plastic materials and products: the Plastica Seconda Vita (Plastic Second Life) certification. The aim of this initiative was to be able to certify the materials and products obtained from the valorisation of plastic waste and at the same introduce two highly significant concepts: the quality and traceability of recycled materials.
Why is there a “comma” before the name and in the logo? The comma stands for the short time elapsing between the life of a plastic product and its second life, i.e., when an object that was used becomes waste, is collected and is recycled into a new product.
A comma is a versatile punctuation mark, just like the plastic, a material that can be transformed into a multitude of shapes and colours, in the most diverse fields of application.
The Plastic Second Life label has an important mission: to promote and communicate the recyclability of polymers and highlight the great potential of plastic materials to bring about a circular economy.
,Plastica Second Life
Certification
Relies
Applies
Makes
The steps leading to the awarding of the PSV label are carried out by IPPR’s partner certification bodies that are accredited by Accredia: IIP srl – Italian Plastics Institute, Kiwa Cermet Italia SpA and SGS Italia SpA.
Who is interested in certification
Companies
It makes it possible to qualify products and materials.
Public Administration
It makes it possible to recognise the products that qualify for Green Public Procurement (GPP).
Citizens
It enables them to make sustainable choices and engage in environmentally virtuous behaviour.
Large-scale retail trade
It makes it possible to actively respond to the ever-increasing demand for eco-sustainable products from environmentally aware customers and to stay ahead of trends in this area.
Those who care about the environment
It promotes the use of circular materials
The Plastic Second Life
certification
in the service of
Green Public Procurement (GPP)
Green Public Procurement is the approach whereby public administrations integrate environmental criteria into each and every stage of the goods and services purchasing process, encouraging the dissemination of environment-friendly technologies and the development of environmentally sound products by researching and selecting the results and the solutions that have the least possible impact on the environment throughout their life cycles.
In order to maximise adherence to GPP, the Italian Ministry of the Environment has drawn up a National Action Plan (GPP NAP) that defines the national goals and makes reference to specific decrees for the identification of the sets of Minimum Environmental Criteria to be applied to each different type of procurement process.
Italy is the first EU country where the application of GPP rules is mandatory in 100% of the calls for tenders concerning the supply categories for which the Minimum Environmental Criteria are in force (Art. 34 of Legislative Decree 50/2016 “Public Contracts Code”). Many of the articles involved consist of products and packaging made of recycled plastic.
Plastica Seconda Vita (Plastic Second Life) is a means to assess conformity to the Minimum Environmental Criteria whenever the recycled content in a product needs to be attested.