DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD  
  DUS 786  
Second  Edition  
2019 -mm-dd 
 
 
 Reference number  
DUS 786: 2019  
© UNBS 2019   
   
Plastics — Codes for resin identification on plastics container  
 DUS 786: 2019  
ii © UNBS 2019 – All rights reserved  
 Compliance with this standard does not, of itself confer immunity from legal obligations  
A Uganda Standard does not purport to include all necessary provisions of a contract. Users are 
responsible for its correct application  
© UNBS 2019  
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilised in any 
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without prior written 
permission from UNBS.  
Requests for permission to reproduce this document should be addressed to  
The Executive Director  
Uganda National Bureau of Standards  
P.O. Box 6329  
Kampala  
Uganda  
Tel: +256 41 4 333 2 50/1/2/3  
Fax: +256 41 4 286 123  
E-mail: info@unbs.go.ug  
Web: www.unbs.go.ug  
 DUS 786:2019  
© UNBS 2019  – All rights reserved  iii 
 Foreword  
Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) is a parastatal under the Ministry of Trade , Industry and 
Cooperatives established under Cap 327 , of the Laws of Uganda , as amen ded.  UNBS is mandated to co -
ordinate the elaboration of standards and is  
(a) a member of International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and  
(b) a contact point for the WHO/FAO Codex Alimentarius Commission on Food Standards, and  
(c) the National Enquiry Poin t on TBT  Agreement  of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).  
The work of preparing Uganda Standards is carried out through Technical Committees. A Technical 
Committee is established to deliberate on standards in a given field or area and consists of key stake holders 
including government, academia, consumer groups, private sector and other interested parties.  
Draft Uganda Standards adopted by the Technical Committee are widely circulated to stakeholders and the 
general public for comments. The committee review s the comments before recommending the draft standards 
for approval and declaration as Uganda Standards by the National Standards Council.  
The committee responsible for this document is Technical Committee UNBS /TC 5, [Che micals and 
Environment ], Subcommitt ee SC 03, Plastics and Related products ]. 
This second  edition cancels and replaces the firs t edition ( US 786:2007 ), which has been technically revised .  DUS 786: 2019  
iv © UNBS 2019 – All rights reserved  
 Introduction  
Plastic waste is one of the main components in municipal solid waste (MSW). It constitute s about 15% to 20% 
by weight and around one -third by volume in the waste stream. Compared with other recyclable materials 
(such as paper, metals and aluminium cans), the recycling and recovery rates of plastic waste in Uganda are 
fairly low.    
To facilita te the development of a sustainable plastic waste recycling industry appropriate to local conditions, 
measures under the Waste Reduction Framework Plan are developed to promote and support the current 
recycling industry. Recycling of waste materials is pre ferable to incinerating or landfilling those materials 
because recycling conserves valuable resources, saves energy in the manufacturing process and extends the 
life of disposal facilities, Increased recycling is necessary because it will lead to reduction  of the solid waste 
stream and plastics have been shown to be recyclable.    
One of the barriers to increased recycling of plastics is the necessity of keeping the various types of plastic 
separate, based on the resin from which they are made, thus a need to develop a coding system that can be 
used to label plastic containers so as to identify the type of resin from which they are made. This standard 
therefore is intended to facilitate the recycling of plastic containers by requiring that these containers b e 
labelled according to resin type.   
 DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD  DUS 786: 2019  
 
© UNBS 2019  – All rights reserved  1 
 Plastics  — Codes for resin identification on plastics container  
1 Scope   
This Draft  Uganda Standard provides the codes for identifying the resin content of plastics containers used by 
the public and to facilitate so rting as prerequisites for successful plastic recovery and recycling.  
The code is not intended to be a guarantee to consumers that a given item b earing the code will be readily 
accepted for recycling. Users of the code are encouraged to adhere to the guide lines 
2 Normative references . 
There are no normative references in this document.  
3 Terms and definitions   
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.  
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardizat ion at the following addresses:  
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at http://www.iso.org/obp  
3.1  
biodegrad able  
substances that will decay relatively quickly as a result of the action of micro -organisms  and break down 
elements that are recycled naturally   
3.2  
degradable  
able to undergo physical and chemical decomposition or degraded in any way into component  parts within 
360 days under exposure to the elements   
3.3 ‘ 
label  
 molded,imprinted, or raised symbol on a plastic product, rigid plastic container or plastic bottle   
3.4   
container  
object such as a box, jar, bag, or bottle including a wrapper film tha t is used to hold something, especially 
when its being stored, transported or wrapped   
3.5  ‘ 
plastic  
any synthetic material made from polymerisation of organic compounds and additives that can be molded in 
many different forms for use   DUS 786: 2019  
2 © UNBS 2019  – All rights reserved  
 3.6  
plastic prod uct 
product made of synthetic material from polymerisation of organic compounds and additives   
3.7  
plastic container  
 an object made of a synthetic material that is intended for holding something   
3.8 
recycle  
process used o n waste material so that it can be used again  
4 Abbreviations  
a) D — degradable   
b) HDPE  — high density polyethylene   
c) LDPE  — low density polyethylene   
d) PETE (PET)  — polyethylene terephthalate   
e) PP — polypropylene   
f) PS — polystyrene   
g) V (PVC)  — vinyl   
h) OTHER  — multilayer  NOTE  Where other is Nylon (polyamide), ABS, PC, PMMA, PU, phenolics  
5 Genera l requirements  
5.1 The code shall confirm the type of resin in the products.  
5.2  The coding system shall offer a means of identifying the resin material of plastic cont ainers used by the 
public.  
5.3  The plastic material coded shall be of resins:  
a) polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE);  
b) high-density polyethylene (HDPE);  
c) polyvinyl chloride (PVC or V);  
d) low-density polyethylene (LDPE);  
e) polypropylene (PP); and  
f) polystyrene  (PS) 
5.4 Each of the resin types is represented by a number under the coding system as specified under clause 
6.4. DUS 786: 2019  
© UNBS 2019  – All rights reserved  3 
 5.5  The coding system shall include a seventh code, identified as "other" but specified. The use of this code 
indicates that the prod uct in question is made of a resin other than the six listed above, or is made of more 
than one resin used in combination . 
6 Labelling  
6.1 Any plastic container/product shall be labelled with a code identifying the appropriate resin type used to 
produ ce the structure of the container. The code shall consist of a number placed within three triangulated 
arrows and a letter placed below the triangle of arrows.  
6.2 The triangulated arrows shall be equilateral, formed by three arrows with the apex of each  point of the 
triangle at the midpoint of each arrow, rounded with a short radius.  
6.3 The pointer (arrowhead) of each arrow shall be at the midpoint of each side of the triangle with a short 
gap separating the pointer from the base of the adjacent arrow . 
6.4 The triangle, formed by the three arrows curved at their midpoints, shall depict a clockwise path around 
the code number. The numbers and letters used shall be as follows  
1. PETE/PET(polyethylene terephthalate);   
2. HDPE (high density polyethylene);   
3. V/PVC (vinyl);   
4. LDPE (low density polyethylene);   
5. PP (polypropylene);   
6. PS (polystyrene); and   
7. Other [specified as either Nylon (polyamide), ABS, PC, PMMA, PU, phenolic  
7 Guidelines for coding   
7.1 General  
The following are general guidelines for co ding:  
a) the code shall be used on plastic containers and plastic products solely to identify resin material;   
b) the code shall appear on the container, and shall be feasible;  
c) the design of the code shall not be modified (the resin acronym in the code shall no t be replaced and 
other types of chasing arrows shall not be used); and  
d) there shall not be any recyclability or other environmental claims in close proximity to the code, even if 
such claims are properly qualified. Specifically, do not use the term "recycl able" in proximity to the 
code.  DUS 786: 2019  
4 © UNBS 2019  – All rights reserved  
 7.2 Identification codes, properties and applications  
Table 1 — Identification codes, properties and applications  
Type of plastic 
materia l Identification cod e Properties  Packaging 
applications  
PETE/PET  
Polyethylene 
tereph thalate   
 
 Clarity  
Toughness  
Barrier to gas and  
moisture heat resistance  
Resistance  to  grease/oil    water and 
beverage bottle s 
and jars  
 Cooking oil 
bottles    
 Powder 
detergent jars   
 Oven able food 
trays   
 Vinegar bottles  
HDPE  
High Density 
Polyethyle ne  
 
 Rigidity  
Strength    
Toughness  
Water barrier   
Chemica l 
resistance   
Ease of forming  
Low cost  
Permeabl e  to  gas   
Natural  milky     white 
colour   jerricans and  
bottles  
 Detergent , 
Bleach  
Cosmetics, 
Lubricants, Milk  
 Rigid pipe  
 Buckets, Basin, 
crates  
 Crinkly shopping 
bags  
 plastic flower 
pots 
 bottle caps  
 Garbage  bins 
PVC 
 Polyvinyl chloride or 
vinyl (V )   
  Clarity/Transparency 
Strength  
Toughness  
Resistance  to  lubricants    Floor tiles  
 Wire and cable 
insulation  
 Garden horses  
 Electrical DUS 786: 2019  
© UNBS 2019  – All rights reserved  5 
 
 
 
 Can be solvent welded  
Electrical insulation   
Non flammability  
 conducts  
 Blood bags  
 Surgical gloves  
 Medical tubing  
 Bottles for 
disinfectants  
 Shoe soles and 
uppers  
 Water pipes and 
fittings  
 Carpet backing  
 Window frame s 
 Wall cladding  
 Outdoor  furniture  
 Shrink wrap  DUS 786: 2019  
6 © UNBS 2019  – All rights reserved  
 LDPE   
Low density polyethylene   
 
 Strength  
Toughness  
Ease  of  processing  
Flexibility   
Moisture barrier   
Low melting point allows 
heat  sealing   Bags for: dry 
cleaning , 
Groceries , Retail , 
Frozen foods  
 Trash cans  
 Bread  
 Squeezable 
bottles  
 Polyethylene 
sheets and film.  
 Wire and cable 
insulation  
PP 
Poly propylene   
 
 
 
 Hard but flexible  
Resistant to heat  
Translucent   Crisp bags  
 Drinking straws  
 Hinged lunch 
boxes  
 Margarine tubs  
 Yoghurt 
containers  
 Medicine bottles  
 Car battery 
cases  
 Brooms and 
brushes  
 Bottle caps  
PS 
Polystyrene   
 
  
Hardness  
Can be blown(expanded)   Packing pellets  
 Clear coffee/tea 
cups  
 Clam shell take 
away containers  
 Plastic cu tlery 
 Video tape cases 
CD DUS 786: 2019  
© UNBS 2019  – All rights reserved  7 
  Meat trays  
 Protective 
packing for 
computers and 
electronics , 
  Egg trays  
Other plastics including  
• Nylon (polyamide ) • 
ABS •  PC • PMMA •  PU • 
Phenolic  
 
 
 
 Not available in sufficient 
quantities for recycling  
  DUS 786: 2019  
8 © UNBS 2019  – All rights reserved  
 Bibliography  
[1] ISO 472 :2013 , Plastics — Vocabulary     
[2] ISO 1087 :2019 , Terminology — Vocabulary     
[3] ISO 1043 -1:2011 , Plastics — Symbols and abbreviated terms — Part 1: Basic polymers and their 
special characteristics  
[4] ISO 1043 -2:2011,  Plastics — Symbols and abbreviated terms — Part 2: Filler and reinforcement 
materials    
[5] ISO 1043 -3:2016 , Plasti cs — Symbols and abbreviated terms — Part 3: Plasticizers    
[6] ISO 1043 -4:1998 , Plastics — Symbols and abbreviated terms — Part 4: Flame retardants  
[7] ISO 11469 :2016 , Plastics — Generic identification and marking of plastic products  
[8] US 786:2007 , Plastics — Codes for resin identification on plastics container  
 DUS 786: 2019  
© UNBS 2019  – All rights reserved  9 
 Certification marking  
Products that conform to Uganda standards may be marked with Uganda National Bureau of Standards 
(UNBS) Certification Mark shown in the figure below.  
The use of the UNBS C ertification Mark is governed by the Standards Act, and the Regulations made 
thereunder. This mark can be used only by those licensed under the certification mark scheme operated by 
the Uganda National Bureau of Standards and in conjunction with the releva nt Uganda Standard. The 
presence of this mark on a product or in relation to a product is an assurance that the goods comply with the 
requirements of that standard under a system of supervision, control and testing in accordance with the 
certification mark  scheme of the Uganda National Bureau of Standards. UNBS marked products are 
continually checked by UNBS for conformity to that standard.  
Further particulars of the terms and conditions of licensing may be obtained from the Director, Uganda 
National Burea u of Standards.  
 DUS 786: 2019    
 
ICS 83.080.00 
Price based o n nn pages  
© UNBS 2019 – All rights reserved