ESTS Approved to be an Ocean Bound Plastic (OBP) Certification Body
We’re pleased to announce that ESTS, part of the Cotecna Group, is now officially recognized by Zero Plastic Oceans as an Ocean Bound Plastic (OBP) certification body.
Ocean Bound Plastic (OBP) is plastic waste defined as “at risk of ending up in the ocean”. OBP is also “Abandoned Plastic Waste” (microplastics, mezzo-plastics and macro-plastics), located within 50kms from shore where waste management is inexistent or inefficient. OBP includes:
- a small fraction of commercially recyclable plastic waste
- a lot of non-commercially recyclable plastic waste
Four categories of OBP have been defined in the OBP Certifications Program:
Potential OBP
- Abandoned Plastic Waste located within a range of 50 km from shore.
Shoreline OBP
- Abandoned Plastic Waste found within 200m from the highest tide limit towards the land and 100m from the lowest tide limit towards the sea.
Waterways OBP
- Abandoned Plastic Waste located within a river stream or within a distance of 200m from both sides of the river stream.
Fishing Material OBP
- Abandoned Plastic Waste collected by fishermen to bring back to shore and/or not discard at sea, their own plastic waste or third-party plastic waste collected involuntarily during fishing activities as bycatch.
OBP Certification Program:
The OBP Certification Program was designed to encourage the removal of OBP from the environment by adding value in effectively collecting and treating it before it reaches oceans.
The scheme is composed of two subprograms OBP Recycling Subprogram, OBP Neutrality Subprogram and Social+ OBP Component.
1. Standards for the OBP Recycling Subprogram certification
OBP Collection Organization Standard, OBP Recycling Organization Standard and OBP Brand Standard.
Remarks:
When OBP is commercially recyclable, its collection and recycling can be encouraged by certifying its origin and traceability, giving it a higher market value with the OBP Recycling Subprogram. This chain of custody is certified using the OBP Collection Organization Standard, the OBP Recycling Organization Standard and the OBP Brand Standard depending on which step on the chain an organization is.
2. Standards for the OBP Neutrality Subprogram certification
OBP Neutralization Services Provider Standard and OBP Plastic Producers & Users Standard.
Remarks:
When OBP is not commercially recyclable, its collection and final treatment can be encouraged by certifying the process with the OBP Neutrality Subprogram. In this model, plastic producers or users can contribute to a better environment by removing a determined volume of plastic waste from nature through the acquisition of OBP Credits to offset their plastic consumption or production. This model is certified using the OBP Neutralization Services Provider Standard and the OBP Plastic Producers and Users Standard.
3. Social+ OBP is not a standalone Standard
It is an optional component that provides greatly enhanced social benefits to Independent Collectors (ICs) and workers of the certified organization. This component can be used together with the OBP Collection Organization Standard for Commercially Recyclable Plastics, and/or with the OBP Neutralization Services Provider Standard for Non-Commercially Recyclable Plastics for the OBP Credits system.
OBP Certification Process:
- Prepare for the audit.
- Select the right Standard(s) according to the organization's activity.
- Select a Certification Body from the "certification body” page.
- Review the selected Standard(s) and understand the requirements.
- Obtain the OBP certificate after passing the audit.
Identify the certification standard(s) that corresponds to your project/activity
Plastic recycling value chain (for commercially recyclable Ocean Bound Plastic):
OBP Collection Organization Standard
- You are collecting Ocean Bound Plastic (OBP) or purchasing OBP from waste pickers, fishermen or small collectors.
OBP Recycling Organization Standard
- You are transforming certified OBP into new products (every recycling and manufacturing activity is considered in this category, from after the collection until the final product).
- You are trading certified OBP material or products (at any stage of the value chain after collection).
Plastic credits and offsets value chain (for non-commercially recyclable OBP):
OBP Neutralization Services Provider Standard
- You are directly collecting or purchasing non-commercially recyclable OBP from waste pickers, fishermen or from small collectors and would like to issue/sell Ocean Bound Plastic Credits (OBP Credits).
OBP Plastics Producers and Users Standard
- You are purchasing OBP Credits and would like to make a certified claim of OBP Neutrality
ESTS (Extensive Standard Technical Services Co., Ltd.) is a global certification body and audit firm with professional services covering social compliance, sustainability, green and low carbon, food safety and quality systems.
We are committed to enhancing the ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) competitiveness for brands and retail supply chains, as well as to creating a transparent and reliable supply chain for our clients.
ESTS provides the following OBP related services globally:
- OBP-COL-STD / OBP-REC-STD / OBP-NEU-STD / OBP-PRO-STD / OBP-SOC-STD Component
Contact us to learn more about our OBP services or let's explore together how ESTS can help you with sustainability and growth.