In 21 of october 2025, was published the Federal Decree no. 12.688, which establishes the reverse logistics system for plastic packaging, expands the scope to “similar” products (glasses, cutlery etc.) e sets national recycled content targets no Anexo ii — the so-called recycled content index becomes official quantitative target, together with the recovery index (LR). Management entities and companies must declare, via SINIR, pasta placed on the market and pasta actually reused/recycled “in order to demonstrate compliance with recovery and recycled content targets”; it's the recycled content should be inserted into verification system defined by the MMA within 90 days.
Where ISCC PLUS comes in — and why it speeds up your compliance
O ISCC PLUS It is a voluntary scheme, global, that validates sustainability characteristics of alternative raw materials (circular and biobased) e requires traceability + chain of custody along the entire chain, with independent audits. For recycled plastics (PCR) and resins derived from advanced recycling, ISCC PLUS offers mass balance options (mass balance) e segregation with site-specific accounting, defined balance periods e sustainability statements standardized documents that accompany each batch — exactly the elements that the decree requests when it talks about checking recycled content.
Which ISCC PLUS certifies (and how this “closes the account” of the PCR)
- Site-specific mass balance: inputs and outputs cannot exceed the volume of sustainable inputs; documentation mandatory per period (dates, inventories, inputs/outputs, conversion factors) It's verified in audit.
- Assignment Options (mass/energy/“trace-the-atom”) and rules for conversion factors based on operational data — nothing theoretical.
- Sustainability statements (Sustainability Declarations) e Self-Declarations: models and requirements for transfer the characteristics (P.ex., “certified circular/recycled content”) between them.
- Chain of custody (segregation and mass balance): recognized methods for maintain the integrity of attributes of the material along the chain, mass ledger e book-and-claim ban.
- Communication rules (ISCC 208): claims/on-pack approval, examples of certified percentage e guidance to avoid greenwashing — useful in labeling and marketing under the new regulatory landscape.
Translation for the decree: O ISCC PLUS provides the prova with audit (accounts, inventories, statements and evidence of purchases/sales) from how much certified PCR was actually awarded to your resin/packaging, per site and per period, allowing declare no SINIR one recycled content index with documentary ballast — exactly what art. 10, X and art. 33 ask (recycled content verification and targets).
Adhesion checklist: Decree 12.688 + ISCC PLUS
- Map scope (primary packaging, secondary, tertiary and comparable) e polymer portfolio (ON, PP, PET, PS, etc.).
- Choose the model: collective (via authorized management entity) Where individual — both will have to provar LR + PCR.
- Approval suppliers from PCR/pyrolysis oil ISCC PLUS; vest Sustainability Declarations per lot.
- Implemente mass balance site-specific (periods of up to 3 months in the “credit mass balance” method), with beginning/ending inventories e conversion factors auditory.
- Integrate the evidence do ISCC (ledger, SDs, audit reports) to the SINIR reporting dossier for check the recycled content index.
- Standardize claims and labeling according to ISCC 208; submit on-pack for prior approval when applicable.
- Council LR + PCR: use your managing entity to prove recovery index (CCRLR/CERE, when applicable) e keep the PCR dosier Ancorado No ISCC Plus — O decreto cobra the two goals in the same base year.
Market example (technical reference)
A Cadbury/Mondelez adopted 80% recycled plastic certified via ISCC PLUS in bars in the UK/Ireland (Amcor/Jindal partnership). The case illustrates real application of mass balance, industrial scale (~300 millions of bars/year) e approved communication — Valuable guide to specifications and claims under increasing scrutiny.
Step by step to 2026 with PCR “test”
- Baseline 2024–2025: quantified mass placed on the market e incorporated recycled dough by SKU/Site. Link NF + SD ISCC.
- Supply contract with ISCC PLUS recyclers/processors (Mechanical/advanced PCR). Guarantee certification continuity to allow credit transfer between periods.
- QA & P&D: adjustment rheology/barrier/color for blends with PCR; document CF/consumption factors of the process.
- Digital traceability: consolidate ISCC ledger, inventories, inputs/outputs e relationship with production orders — ready to audit e IT'S BREAKING.
- Claims governance: apply ISCC 208 in on/off-pack communication to reduce the risk of greenwashing.
Quick questions
ICC PLUS “provade” the exigid PCR?
Sim. Independent audits check the site-specific mass balance per period, Climate Resilience sustainability statements One of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals is to ensure sustainable patterns of production and consumption – the equivalence between certified inputs and claimed outputs — evidence supporting the recycled content index of the decree.
Do I need a management entity even with ISCC?
For reverse logistics (LR) and reporting IT'S BREAKING, sim: collective model (or individual) It is a decision of the decree. O ISCC PLUS copper a prova do PCR; LR continues to be regulatory obligation in parallel.
And the percentage labeling?
O ISCC 208 eastern What declare percentages and when submeter claims e on-pack for approval — useful for aligning with Brazilian labeling and consumer protection standards.
Conclusion
O Decree 12.688/2025 took the PCR to the compliance center. ISCC PLUS it's the technical shortcut to transform “recycled promises” in auditable numbers, with mass balance, standardized statements e approved claims. Who to integrate ISCC PLUS + managing entity + IT'S BREAKING come in 2026 with legal security, supply scale e robust communication.
How can we help (ISCC in practice)
Our team has expertise hands-on in ISCC PLUS implementation and audits in plastic chains (Mechanical and advanced PCR), including:
- Diagnostics by site/SKU → design of the mass balance e conversion factors;
- ISCC supplier approval e SD stream;
- Evidence architecture for IT'S BREAKING (Anexo ii) e are some of the answers;
- Claims governance (ISCC 208) e on-pack review.
He wants link your decree to ISCC with beginning, middle and end? Talk to us and accelerate your transition for 2026 with ISCC PLUS — from polymer to shelf.
Learn more in our blog.
See the decree.