OBP NEU (Neutrality) Services Provider Standard (Ocean Bound Plastic)

What is the OBP NEU Services Provider Standard?

This specific module of the OBP (Ocean Bound Plastic) Certification Program, developed by Zero Plastic Oceans (ZPO), establishes a reliable bridge between brands aiming to achieve a "Plastic Neutral" status and the organizations collecting and treating waste on the ground. This standard is designed explicitly for the managers (Services Providers) of the "Plastic Credit" system, which finances the collection and safe disposal of low-value, non-commercially recyclable plastic waste—waste that is otherwise ignored by collectors and left to pollute the environment. The primary goal of the standard is to ensure that these ocean-protection efforts are financially and physically transparent, traceable, and completely free from fraud.

Key Technical Criteria of the OBP NEU Standard

Rather than focusing on physical recycling, this standard enforces strict rules regarding the documentation and "crediting" of the process from the collection of plastic waste to its final disposal:

• Scope and Low-Value Plastics:

  • The system strictly covers the collection of low-value plastics with no economic value, which have the highest risk of ending up in the ocean (e.g., multi-layered packaging, snack wrappers, degraded plastic bags).

• Plastic Credit Generation and Prevention of Double Counting:

  • Every 1 ton of OBP collected from nature and safely disposed of is converted into 1 "OBP Credit."

  • It is mandatory that these credits and their trading transactions are recorded with unique serial numbers in ZPO’s global OBP Credit Registry. This rigorous tracking absolutely prevents the same batch of plastic or credit from being sold to multiple brands (double counting).

• End-of-Life Verification:

  • The service provider must prove with official documents, weighbridge tickets, and analyses that the collected waste has been ultimately disposed of without harming the environment (e.g., used as alternative fuel in cement kilns via co-processing with strict emission filters, or through advanced thermal treatments).

• Social Compliance and Ethical Labor:

  • To prevent the exploitation of waste pickers (often working in the informal sector), rules regarding fair compensation, the prohibition of child labor, and occupational health and safety are meticulously audited.

Who this standard is for

OBP NEU (Neutrality) is for service providers that finance or organise collection of ocean-bound plastic to offset a client’s plastic footprint under OBP neutrality rules. It is not a claim that the client’s product contains OBP recyclate.

What is certified

• Neutrality accounting of plastic footprint versus financed OBP collection
• Contracts between the NEU provider, client, and certified collection organisations
• Avoidance of double counting the same collected tonnes
• Public claim language limited to neutrality, not product content

What this standard does not cover

• Physical recycled content in a bottle or garment (Brand / Producer-User / GRS)
• Operating the collection sites unless also certified to Collection
• Carbon offsetting or plastic credits outside the OBP NEU rules

Questions buyers and operators usually ask

Can we print “made with ocean-bound plastic” on a product covered only by NEU?

No. NEU means collection was financed to match a footprint. It does not put OBP molecules in that SKU. Content claims need the Brand or Producer/User path.

Are OBP NEU tonnes the same as plastic-credit registries?

Only if those tonnes follow OBP NEU rules and collection certification. A generic plastic credit from another registry is not automatically OBP NEU.

Can the same collected tonne be sold as NEU and as recyclate content?

Double counting is a central risk. The scheme’s rules on unique allocation of tonnes must be followed; auditors look for the same lot sold twice.

Does the client company need its own OBP certificate?

The NEU provider is certified. The client still needs claim-language control so marketing does not slide into a content claim. Some programmes also require client disclosure of the footprint method.

What to have ready before the audit

• Footprint calculation method used for each client
• Contracts and invoices for financed collection tonnes
• Collection organisation certificates covering those tonnes
• A register preventing double sale of the same lot
• Approved claim wording for client marketing teams

Frequent findings

• Product packs saying “contains ocean plastic” on a NEU-only campaign
• Buying uncertified collection and calling it OBP NEU
• Selling the same tonne to two clients
• Mixing carbon-offset language with OBP NEU