On this page
Saudi Arabia: a licensed degradable-plastic logo, not a recycling label
The SASO Technical Regulation for Degradable Plastic Products makes a licensed logo and prescribed product information mandatory on listed disposable polyethylene and polypropylene articles. It does not create a national recycling or sorting label. Unlicensed use of the logo is itself a breach. The SASO landing page still lists the regulation as current.
The question this report answers
The Technical Regulation for Degradable Plastic Products was published in the Official Gazette on 13/01/1438 AH (14 October 2016). Arabic is authentic. SASO 2879 is the product standard made obligatory by Annex 2 of the regulation; the on-pack logo and information rules are in the technical regulation itself, Articles 5(3) and 7. Article 2 applies the regulation to disposable products manufactured from polypropylene and polyethylene listed in Annex 1, within the thickness limits of the approved standards. The regulation requires those products to be oxo-degradable then biodegradable. Plastic products used in the medical and food industries are stated as an exception in Article 2 — that carve-out is not a free pass for bakery bags or disposable food tools listed in Annex 1. Classify before relying on it.
SASO owns the logo. It indicates conformity with the regulation, not recyclability. Stage 1 enforcement for shopping bags, garbage bags, clothing bags and tablecloths ran from 14 April 2017. Additional Annex 1 lines (courier bags, bubble wrap, cling film, bakery bags and others) were brought in from 1 February 2019. Treat the regulation as mandatory unless SASO withdraws it. A Möbius loop, Taiwan emblem or SPI triangle does not discharge the duty.
Legal status at a glance
| Requirement | Status | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| SASO degradable-plastic logo | mandatory if in scope and licensed | Licence first. Logo only on licensed products, in a clear position at the lower part. Bags: both sides, indelible, 10–15 per cent of the total area of both sides. Small items: on the package, after SASO approval. |
| Arabic (or Arabic and English) lock-up | mandatory | Article 7(a). English-only for the logo lock-up does not satisfy. |
| Product information on each piece | mandatory | Article 7(c): manufacturer name and/or trademark; country of origin; production date as day, month and year, and barcode; purpose of use; shelf life and storage; the logo. Arabic or English or both, legible and non-erasable. |
| Unlicensed logo | prohibited | Articles 5(3) and 7(d). SASO may cancel the licence (Article 10(D)). |
| General recycling or sorting label | not this regulation | This is a degradable-plastic mark. It is not a universal recycling label for all packaging. |
Scope, licence and the 10–15 per cent rule
Annex 1 lists carrier bags, courier and mail bags, agricultural bags, bubble bags and shock-protection covers, flower wraps, secondary-packaging covers, stretch and cling films, carton liners, table covers, disposable personal-care plastics, bakery bags, sapling bags, heat-shrink films, and one-time-use bags and food tools. Bubble wrap, overwrap and cushioning used as packaging of another product must themselves carry the logo (Article 5(3)(D)). If the article is PE/PP disposable film in Annex 1, the logo duty is the starting assumption unless a SASO or SABER ruling says otherwise.
Article 5: apply per product with a commercial or industrial licence, a technical file (abiotic degradation, residual chemistry, aerobic biodegradation) from a registered laboratory, and safety-regulation documents. The logo-usage licence is for one year, renewable. Article 5(3)(A) is the artwork clause: lower part; bags both sides, 10–15 per cent of the total space of both sides, indelible; little-sized products that are hard to print, on the package after SASO’s approval. A 10 per cent logo on one face only fails. Decorative placement in a header lock-up fails the “lower part” test. The small-item exception is not self-served. Commercial restatements sometimes recast the 10–15 per cent as applying to each side; measure against the Arabic regulation and SASO’s English PDF (“total space of both sides”), not a consultant flyer.
Prescribed information, and what Article 10 actually does
Each piece carries the Article 7(c) block. Day-month-year plus barcode is not the same as Peru’s month-and-year rule. The supplier — resident manufacturer, person whose name or brand is on the product, KSA agent of a foreign manufacturer, or the importer if there is no agent — bears full legal responsibility (Articles 1 and 12). Article 10 does not set a riyal table. It prohibits manufacture, import, placing on the market, display or advertising of non-conforming product; treats incorrect or missing logo as incompatibility that may be a health, safety or environment risk; and provides for withdrawal, re-export or destruction, seizure, public recall at the violator’s cost, licence cancellation, and punishment under the Commercial Fraud system without prejudice to any more severe penalty.
Bakery bags listed in Annex 1 are not “food industry exempt” merely because Article 2 mentions medical and food industries. Wrap around a non-plastic product is not outside the duty if the wrap itself is an Annex 1 article. English-template artefacts do not displace the Arabic regulation.
Primary sources and verification
SASO. Technical Regulation for Degradable Plastic Products (landing page). saso.gov.sa
SASO. English PDF of the technical regulation. PDF
InforMEA. Same instrument, gazette date 14 October 2016. InforMEA
Arabic is authentic. Document ID M.A-156-16-03-03. Last verified: 21 August 2026.