121B V2 Criteria

Eco Mark Product Category No.121“Returnable Containers / Packaging Materials Version2.4” Certification Criteria

Category B Plastic containers and packaging materials
Japan Environment Association

Eco Mark Office
1. Purpose of Establishing Criteria
Omitted.
2. Applicable Scope• Plastic containers and packaging materials,
that use plastic not less than 70% in weight to the whole product as a major material
3. Terminology
Omitted.
4. Certification Criteria and Certification Procedure
To show conformance to the individual criteria, the Applicant shall submit therespective Attached Certificate forms duly filled in.
In the event re-examination under the present Certification Criteria is sought for aproduct that is already certified in the Product Category 121 “Returnable Containers andPackaging Materials (no version),” the certifications procedures 4-1. (2), (3), (5)-(8) and(13) may be substituted by filling in necessary items on the Attached Certificate form anddeclaring further therein that no alternations have been made to the product alreadycertified.
4-1. Environmental Criteria and Certification Procedure(1) An average product shall be repeatedly used at least five times.
[Certification Procedure] * Certifier: Applicant
The Applicant shall submit a document indicating that the actual average numberof recycling uses of a product is five times or more (for new products, the data forcomparable products may be submitted instead).
(2) The product shall be designed so as to be used repeatedly.
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Applicant or a third party body
The Applicant shall submit a certificate by a third party or company design(Criteria) 1/8

121B V2 Criteria

documents describing:
1. Strength
2. Cleaning characteristics
3. Label’s adhesive or removable characteristics (for those products requiring
attachment or removal of a label after each reuse)(3) A product collecting (recycling) system shall be established, and this fact shall bemade known by marking or information disclosure.
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Applicant
The Applicant shall submit the following:
1. A document describing a system or a product collecting route to make a productreturnable
2. A document or photos illustrating a container (if any) in which products are put
for transportation
3. Marking or information disclosure stating that a product is reusable(4) In manufacturing the applied product, related environmental laws and regulations
and pollution control agreement (hereinafter referred to as the “Environmental Laws,etc.”) must be followed with respect to air pollution, water contamination, noise,offensive odor, and emission of hazardous substances in the area where the plant
performing the final manufacturing process is located.
In addition, the state of compliance with the Environmental Laws, etc. for the past five
years from the date of application (whether there is any violation) must be reported. If
there is any violation, proper remedies and preventive measures shall have beenalready taken, and the related Environmental Laws, etc. must thereafter be followed
appropriately.
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Final product manufacturer
With respect to the compliance with the Environmental Laws, etc. in the area
where the plant performing the final manufacturing process is located, a certificate
issued by the representative of the business of manufacturing the applied productor the relevant plant manager (entry or attachment of a list of names of theEnvironmental Laws, etc.) must be submitted.
In addition, the applicants shall report whether there is any violation in the past
five years, including a violation subject to administrative punishment oradministrative guidance, and if there is, the following documents in a and b must be
submitted:
a. With respect to the fact of violation, guidance documents from administrative(Criteria) 2/8

121B V2 Criteria

agencies (including order of correction and warning) and copies of written
answers (including those reporting causes and results of correction) to such
documents (clearly indicating a series of communication);b. Following materials (copies of recording documents, etc.) concerning themanagement system for compliance with the Environmental Laws, etc. in 1)-5):
1) List of the Environmental Laws, etc. related to the area where the plant islocated;
2) Implementation system (organizational chart with roles, etc.);
3) Bylaws stipulating retention of recording documents;
4) Recurrence prevention measures (future preventive measures);5) State of implementation based on recurrence prevention measures (result ofchecking of the state of compliance, including the result of onsite inspection).
(5) Of printing ink used on a product (product labels, etc.), substances restricted by theJapan Printing Ink Maker's Association's "Self-imposed Controls on Printing Ink for
Food Packaging Materials (Negative List Control)" shall not be added as components.
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Applicant
The Applicant shall state in the Attached Certificate that the product complies with
Negative List regulations.
(6) The amount of the material, such as throw-away attachments, of products which isdiscarded during distribution or after use shall be smaller than or equal to that ofcomparable one-way containers and packaging materials. However, this requirement
does not apply to the cases that neither comparable one-way containers nor packaging
materials are available.
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Applicant
A document prepared by the applicant shall be submitted that explains thegeneration of label, cap and other wastes during the phases of distribution, use andconsumption is less than or equivalent to that generated by comparable one-way
containers or packaging materials.
(7) Packaging material shall not use the specific chlorofluorocarbons (five CFCs), otherCFCs, carbon tetrachloride, trichloroethane, and CFC substitutes (HCFCs) during
product manufacturing.
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Manufacturing process manufacturer
Conformance to this criterion shall be stated in the attachment. In addition,
certification issued by the authorized representative or plant general manager of(Criteria) 3/8

121B V2 Criteria

the manufacturer of the plastic material used in the product or of the businessestablishment that assembles the product shall be submitted.
(8) With respect to products which are intended as containers for food, cosmetics,
medicine-related products and the like and for which plastic materials are used, theplasticizers, colorants, stabilizers, lubricants and other plastics additives shall conformto the positive list system of food utensils, containers and packaging, etc. In case ofusing the plastic additives which are not listed in the positive list for products otherthan food utensils, containers and packaging, those color materials or plastic additives
shall meet the requirements described / prescribed in ISO 8124-3, laws or voluntarystandards in the industry etc.
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Manufacturing process manufacturer or a third
party body
The Applicant shall submit certificates that the plasticizers, colorants, stabilizers,lubricants and other plastics additives used in the products which are intended as
containers for food, cosmetics, medicine-related products and the like conform to thepositive list system of food utensils, containers and packaging, etc. With respect tocolor materials and plastic additives not listed in the Positive List, the results oftests to show the conformance to the requirements described in ISO 8124-3, laws or
voluntary standards in the industry, etc. shall be submitted.
(9) Cadmium, lead, hexavalent chromium, mercury, or their compounds as formulation
ingredients shall not be added.
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Applicant
Certification to indicate not to add chemical substances as formulation ingredientsduring manufacturing process shall be submitted.
(10) With respect to products which are intended as containers for food, cosmetics,
medicine-related products and the like shall not be added the substances classified asGroups 1, 2A and 2B by IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) as
formulation ingredients. However, it excludes the chemical substances to use for thepurpose of making polymers by polymerization reaction (ex; polyvinyl monomer,styrene).
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Applicant
Fill in the attached certificate that if the applied product falls under this criteria
item or not. In the case that the product falls under this criteria item, document
certifying that the products do not contain chemical substances described in each(Criteria) 4/8

121B V2 Criteria

criteria item as formulation ingredients during manufacturing process shall besubmitted.
(11) Products which are intended as containers for food, cosmetics, medicine-related
products and the like shall meet the requirement of harmful substances in theStandards for Food, Food Additives, etc.(Ministry of Health and Welfare Notice No.370,1959).
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Third party testing body, Applicant ormanufacturer
The Applicant shall submit test results to certifying that the products do notcontain the corresponding harmful substances.
(12) The parts of different construction materials shall be separable at the time ofdisposal. Provided, however, this separation performance shall not be required if theproduct is made of FRP.
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Applicant
Documents explaining that the product can be separated into parts of different
construction materials at the time of disposal shall be submitted.
(13) Products made of FRP, in case of failure, shall be repairable.
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Applicant
Documents indicating the address, repair methods and the capability of the facility
shall be submitted.
(14) The product shall be marked to facilitate recycling. Or, when containers aredisposed of and recycled, recyclers, etc. must familiarize themselves with container
material (only when containers whose whereabouts become unknown are not more than
10% of the total). To indicate a type of polymers, a symbol of JIS K 6899-1 or ISO 1043-1
is used, and regarding to the indicating method, it shall follow the JIS K 6999. Though
the above mentioned display method is basically followed, it is possible to substitute itby the display that is obligated by other laws, etc. In addition, for the product to use
multiple types of polymers, the indication such as “R-PE, PP, PS” can be used. In case touse three or more types of polymers, indicate the top two polymers and the rest can beomitted.
[Certification Procedure] ApplicantPhotographs and/or design drawings to show the contents and the labeled portion ofindication shall be submitted. Statements that demonstrate that the product(Criteria) 5/8

121B V2 Criteria

material is identifiable or methods for making sure that everyone involved isthoroughly conversant with the material, and explanatory material, etc. that
containers which are not recovered and go missing do not exceed 10%, etc. shall besubmitted.
(15) The product shall not use plastics containing halogens in its polymer backbone. If
any such plastic is used, 70% or more of it shall be material-recycled.
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Applicant
Use or non-use of plastic materials containing halogens in the polymer backbone in
the product shall be stated in the attached certificate.
If the material is used, a document assuring proper material recycling after
disposal shall be submitted.

The Secretariat reserves the right to collect reportson the recycling ratio (or conduct an audit) after conclusion of the license
agreement, and the applicant hereby agrees to cooperate for these purposes.
(16) In the event the applicant is a “specified business entity” under the Containers andPackaging Recycling Law and the product for which application is made is subject tothe recycling obligation, the certification for voluntary recycling shall have beenobtained (recycling ratio approximately 90%). If no certification has been obtained, therecycling fee shall have been duly paid.
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Applicant
In the event the applicant is a “specified business entity” under the Containers andPackaging Recycling Law and the product for which application is made is subject
to the recycling obligation, the attachment shall state that the certification forvoluntary recycling shall have been obtained.

If no certification has been obtained,a document evidencing due payment of the recycling fee shall be submitted.
4-2.

Quality Criteria and Certification Procedure(17) The quality of the product shall conform to the following conditions (a) to (c). In
case that the product functions as part of equipment such as a printer, the Applicant
shall certify the fact that repeated use of the product would not disrupt its performanceby the following conditions (a) to (c).
(a) For the product which is applicable to quality criteria such as JIS, it shall conformto the quality criteria.
(b) For the product which is not applicable to (a) on the above, it shall conform to thevoluntary quality standards of the industry.
(c) For the product which is not applicable to (a) or (b) on the above, there shall be(Criteria) 6/8

121B V2 Criteria

in-house quality standards for quality management.
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Third party testing body or Applicant
The Applicant shall submit test results regarding quality criteria of the productbased on the applicable laws, JIS standards, voluntary standards, etc. or a copy of acertification issued by a JIS certified plant.

5. Product Classification, Indication and Others(1) Product shall be applied by a returnable business operator.
(2) An application shall be made by applicable scope of this product category, bystructured returnable system unit, or by brand name (including structured returnablesystem name). Classification by size or color is not performed.
(3) In principle, the Eco Mark shall be indicated on the product, etc. The licensees of Eco
Mark Utilization Contract who own the Eco Mark products shall also be allowed to use
the indication and the certification number as before.

(Note for the indication)*For indicating the logo, Eco Mark certification number (eight-digit number) or thename of the licensee using the logo shall be appeared.
* Such expression as “Eco Mark product” can be used following the 2.(2) of the Guide to
Eco Mark Usage.
“Eco Mark product”, “#Eco Mark”, “www.ecomark.jp”, “Eco Mark Certificate”*In accordance with “Environmental Labeling Guidelines” of the Ministry of theEnvironment of Japan, etc., the environmental claims of certified products may beindicated in association with Eco Mark
(https://www.env.go.jp/policy/hozen/green/ecolabel/guideline/)*The Guide to Eco Mark Usage shall be followed for any cases not listed above.
(https://www.ecomark.jp/office/guideline/guide/)

July 2, 2007:

Established (Version 2.0)

August 21, 2008:

Revised (4-1(4),(14) Version2.1)(Criteria) 7/8

121B V2 Criteria

March 1,2011

Revised (5 Version2.2)

July 13,2012

Revised (5 Version2.3)

March 15, 2016

Extension of Expiration

April 1,2019Revised (5. (3) Mark indication)

March 1, 2021

Extension of Expiration

February 1, 2023

Revised (4-1.(8)(15), Version2.4)

June 30, 2027

Expiration date

The Certification Criteria for the Product Category will be revised when necessary.

(Criteria) 8/8