PureCycle Technologies, Inc. has announced a significant regulatory milestone: The company’s PureFive® resin can now be recognized as “postconsumer recycled content” (PCR) under the state of New Jersey’s Recycled Content Law (N.J.S.A. 13:1E-99.135 et seq.).
This designation has been made by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) following a thorough review of PureCycle’s recycling process. This is a one-year conditional approval and positions PureCycle to be a critical supply partner for brands and manufacturers working to comply with the state’s recycled content requirements.
PureCycle will work toward a permanent approval with the NJDEP over the next 12 months. This work will include—but is not limited to—providing documentation of feedstock sources, the type of feedstock processed, PureFive® end-use applications, as well as certain compliance information as requested by the NJDEP.
“This is a landmark moment for PureCycle and for every brand owner working to meet the mandates set by this law. We’ve had significant customer interest due to this mandate, but many were simply waiting for this regulatory clarity from the NJDEP before moving forward” said PureCycle CEO Dustin Olson. “Generating demand for recycled content is exactly the kind of policy action the world needs if we’re serious about creating circular economies.”
New Jersey’s Recycled Content Law requires manufacturers of rigid plastic containers, beverage containers, and other regulated packaging to meet minimum thresholds of postconsumer recycled content. The mandates started at 10% for rigid plastics in 2024 and rise by 10% every three years until reaching 50%. Food-contact packaging is exempt until 2027, but the qualification process for recycled content in these types of applications can take many months, which has led many brand owners to inquire about PureFive® resin over the past year.
PureFive® resin is produced through PureCycle’s physical, dissolution recycling process, which removes color, odor, additives and other materials from post-consumer polypropylene to create a recycled resin with properties comparable to new plastic. These properties, including being deemed suitable for food-contact by the United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA), allow for PureFive® resin to be used in a wide range of applications. This includes many of the rigid plastic containers that fall under New Jersey’s recycled content mandate.
PureCycle sourced more than 10.5 million pounds of post-consumer recycled plastic from the state of New Jersey in 2025—more than any other state.
