Recyclable

Sixty percent

On this page15

The rule And the qualification standard With a defined threshold Which is unusual in guidance about claims So the question has an answerable form And it is a question about geography, not materials Which is why a specification cannot answer it Clearly and prominently is the other half And our shelf has four materials to think about Glass and PET are the familiar two So the material choice affects the claim you can make And the threshold is about consumers, not about places Which makes it a question about your market Name the resin, and qualify the claim yourself References

"substantial majority"... means at least 60 percent.

The rule

It is deceptive to misrepresent, directly or by implication, that a product or package is recyclable.

And the qualification standard

Marketers should clearly and prominently qualify recyclable claims to the extent necessary to avoid deception about the availability of recycling programs and collection sites to consumers.

With a defined threshold

The term substantial majority, as used in that context, means at least 60 percent.

Which is unusual in guidance about claims

Most of it is about impressions and reasonable consumers. This is a percentage, and a specific one.

So the question has an answerable form

Are programs and collection sites available to at least 60 percent of consumers, or are they not.

And it is a question about geography, not materials

A resin is recyclable in principle everywhere and collected in practice in some places. The threshold is about the second.

Which is why a specification cannot answer it

Our Recyclable field records a product attribute and the threshold is about program coverage. Those are different facts.

Clearly and prominently is the other half

A qualification buried in small print is not a qualification. Which brings the type size properties back into view.

And our shelf has four materials to think about

26 HDPE, 24 PP, 20 Glass and 13 PET, which is the most balanced mix in this library and four different collection pictures.

Glass and PET are the familiar two

HDPE is widely collected and polypropylene much less so. All four are recyclable as materials and that is not the test.

So the material choice affects the claim you can make

Which is a genuine selection criterion and one our data does not help with beyond naming the resin.

And the threshold is about consumers, not about places

Available to at least 60 percent of consumers rather than in 60 percent of localities. A dense city with a program counts for more than a county without one.

Which makes it a question about your market

Not a national fact. A maker selling in one region answers it for that region, which is the same local framing the refillable example uses.

Name the resin, and qualify the claim yourself

We publish the material on every container. The availability research is not ours and our Yes should not be read as it.

References

16 CFR 260.12(a): "It is deceptive to misrepresent, directly or by implication, that a product or package is recyclable." (b): "Marketers should clearly and prominently qualify recyclable claims to the extent necessary to avoid deception about the availability of recycling programs and collection sites to consumers." The section states that "The term 'substantial majority,' as used in this context, means at least 60 percent." law.cornell.edu

The Davis Pack Supply catalog, measured 19 October 2026. A "Recyclable" specification is published on 803 rows catalog-wide and the value is "Yes" on all 803; there is no other value in the field anywhere. On this group's shelf it is present on 39 of the 83 containers, all of them Yes. So a blank cannot be distinguished from a negative, and a bare Yes is an unqualified recyclable claim. Nothing in our data says which programs or collection sites are available to anyone.

The Davis Pack Supply catalog, measured 19 October 2026. 307 rows: 83 containers and 224 closures. 5 to 3,785 mL with a median of 59, and the distribution is bimodal: 57 of the 83 containers are under 120 mL and 26 are over 946 mL, with 29 at 59 mL alone and 13 at 3,785 mL, which is one US gallon. 26 HDPE, 24 PP, 20 Glass and 13 PET, which is the most balanced material mix measured anywhere in this library. 44 jars, 26 bottles, 9 jugs, 3 tubs and pails, 1 tube. 14 glass boston rounds, 12 PET single wall jars, 9 PE F style bottles, 9 double wall round base jars, 7 PE industrial round bottles, 7 double wall straight base jars, 5 glass straight sided jars, and one twin neck bottle. 27 white, 13 natural, 13 clear, 11 black, 9 amber, 6 blue, 2 frosted, 2 green. Closures: 141 continuous thread polypropylene lids, 34 metal or aluminum CT caps, 15 dome lids, 7 sealing discs, 5 flip top caps, 5 phenolic, 4 round tub lids, 3 spouted caps, 2 plastic round pail lids. Buyability, a snapshot: 65 of 83 available, 17 not, 1 unrecorded; 20 quote only; 27 full case only.

Written from 16 CFR 260.12 and 260.14 and from the catalog as it stood on 19 October 2026. Our own Recyclable specification has exactly one value, Yes, on all 803 rows that carry it, which means a blank and a negative cannot be told apart and a bare Yes is an unqualified claim. Nothing here states whether any container is recyclable or whether programs are available anywhere. The Green Guides are guidance on claims and nothing on these pages describes the rest of them, nor state recycled-content or labeling statutes.