Knowledge Bank | Plastic Units

Explainers

What are plastic credits?

Plastic credits are certified units representing one kilogram of plastic waste collected or diverted from the environment. This explainer covers how they work, who issues them, and why the voluntary market is projected to reach $5 billion by 2030.

4 min · 1 Jul 2025Read →

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Plastic neutrality vs. plastic-free

Plastic-free, plastic neutral, and plastic negative are distinct commitments with different implications for action, verification, and the legal claims brands can make. This explainer covers what each means, the regulatory landscape, and how to avoid greenwashing risk.

5 min · 15 Jun 2025Read →

explainer

Ocean-bound plastic: the most valuable credit type

Ocean-bound plastic credits command prices 3–4x higher than land-based equivalents — but the label covers multiple competing definitions, certifiers, and verification models that buyers must understand before purchasing.

5 min · 10 May 2025Read →

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Plastic credit co-benefits: social impact and SDG alignment

Projects that deliver verified social co-benefits alongside plastic collection command significant price premiums and offer greater resilience to scrutiny. This article maps the SDG alignment framework, explains how co-benefits are measured, and identifies the verification standards that matter.

7 min · 10 Mar 2025Read →

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Chemical recycling credits: pyrolysis, gasification, and Verra's VM0046

Chemical recycling converts mixed and contaminated plastics that mechanical recycling cannot handle into hydrocarbon feedstocks or synthesis gas. This explainer covers the three main technologies, how Verra's VM0046 methodology works, and why the market and critics are both watching this credit type closely.

6 min · 15 Sept 2025Read →

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rePurpose Global: how their model works and what brands use them

rePurpose Global is the most widely used plastic credit intermediary in the world, managing programmes for over 250 brands across 80+ verified collection projects. This explainer covers how the model works, what it costs, which brands use it, and where its limitations lie.

5 min · 15 Aug 2025Read →

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How plastic credits are priced: what drives market value

Plastic credit prices range from $50 to over $450 per tonne, but this spread is not arbitrary. Four structural factors — credit type, certification standard, co-benefits, and supply scarcity — determine where any given credit settles in the market.

5 min · 15 Jul 2025Read →

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Verra VMR0006 explained: the methodology behind most plastic credits

VMR0006 is the Verra methodology that governs the majority of plastic credits in the voluntary market. This explainer covers scope, baseline establishment, additionality, monitoring requirements, and how credits are calculated from project data.

6 min · 5 Aug 2025Read →

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Ocean-bound plastic: definition, collection model, and certification pathways

Ocean-bound plastic is the most-demanded and highest-priced category of plastic credit. This guide explains the defining criteria, how collection operations work in practice, and which certification pathway is right for different buyer and project contexts.

5 min · 10 Sept 2025Read →

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Chemical recycling and plastic credits: pyrolysis, gasification, and solvolysis

Chemical recycling credits represent the fastest-growing segment of the plastic credit market — and the most contested. This explainer covers the three principal technologies, how they generate credits under Verra VM0046, and what buyers need to know about the circular economy debate.

6 min · 15 Oct 2025Read →

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Plastic credit MRV: monitoring, reporting, and verification explained

MRV — monitoring, reporting, and verification — is the quality control backbone of the plastic credit market. Understanding how each phase works, and where failures occur, is essential for buyers seeking credible credits and developers seeking efficient pathways to issuance.

5 min · 15 Nov 2025Read →

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Plastic credit additionality: why baselines decide whether a credit is real

Additionality asks whether plastic would have been collected anyway. This explainer covers baselines, the main ways additionality is tested, where plastic markets make it hard, and questions buyers can ask.

5 min · 22 Oct 2026Read →