Grade your plastics!

Starting September 30, manufacturers, purchasers and government agencies can soon evaluate how green and sustainable plastics are via a new "Plastic Scorecard" developed by nonprofit group Clean Production Action (CPA) and sustainability consulting firm Pure Strategies.

The Scorecard rates plastics from F to A+ on a set of criteria that simultaneously advance sustainable raw materials, green chemistry and closed loop systems, according to CPA. The criteria for moving up the spectrum toward "preferred plastics" were selected to progressively increase the sustainability of the plastic at each stage of its lifecycle -- from feedstock production and manufacturing to use and disposal.

"The Scorecard is essentially a decision-making tool aimed at improving the design of plastic products," said CPA's Research Director Mark Rossi. "As more and more consumers demand products that do not include toxic chemicals, companies, governments and environmental organizations need a way to assess the environmental preferability of the various alternatives."

The Scorecard will be unveiled next week at the Biopolymer Symposium 2009 in Chicago.

[Kudos to my colleague Anna Jagger for this information]