Circular Action Alliance has opened a 45-day public comment period on its draft Responsible End Markets certification standard, giving industry stakeholders until July 7 to weigh in on a framework that will determine what counts as recycling under emerging producer responsibility (EPR) programs.
The REM standard sets downstream benchmarks for paper, packaging and food serviceware covering material traceability, responsible management verification and end-use confirmation while protecting confidential business information, according to CAA.
As EPR implementation accelerates across states, the standard is positioned to answer a fundamental question regulators and producers will need resolved: what actually qualifies as responsibly managed material?
“States are increasingly relying on responsible end market requirements as part of their EPR laws, and that reality demands credible, consistent tools to verify compliance,” said Shane Buckingham, CAA chief of staff, in a statement. “The REM Standard is about supporting those statutory requirements with a clear framework that works across jurisdictions while also improving transparency and confidence in recycling outcomes.”
Heidi Sanborn, executive director of the National Stewardship Action Council, told Resource Recycling that the standard will serve as a key differentiator as laws like California’s SB 54 move into implementation, and that it closes a long-standing accountability gap in the system.
“We have to make sure that we are not just collecting, shipping and praying for the best,” Sanborn said. “We have to make sure that we earn the public’s trust, that we know where this stuff is going and we can assure them it will end up in a new product, and nobody was harmed in the process or the environment.”
CAA is developing the standard in partnership with SCS Standards and Assurance Systems, an ANSI-accredited standard development organization. A standard development committee representing regulators, environmental organizations, academic experts and industry groups is guiding the process, which also incorporates pilot audit results and public comment.
“Well-designed standards play a critical role in bringing clarity, consistency and transparency to complex systems,” said Victoria Norman, executive director of SCS Standards and Assurance Systems. “The REM Standard is being developed to provide a clear and credible framework that supports regulatory requirements while giving interest holders confidence in how recycling outcomes are defined, evaluated and verified.”
CAA said it will publish a high-level summary of comment themes after the period closes July 7.
