On this page
Delaware: sustainable packaging labelling
Delaware requires covered plastic bottles and rigid plastic containers to carry the prescribed 1-7 resin code molded, imprinted or raised on or near the bottom. The statute includes broad actor definitions, a civil penalty range and injunctive enforcement. Delaware no longer operates a bottle-deposit program.
Executive summary
Delaware’s current sustainability-related on-pack rule is a resin-identification requirement. Title 7, sections 6090 to 6093, prohibits distribution, sale or offers for sale of covered plastic bottles and rigid plastic containers without the prescribed code. Bottles are covered from 16 fluid ounces to less than 5 gallons; other rigid plastic containers are covered from 8 ounces to less than 5 gallons.
The code is molded, imprinted or raised on or near the bottom and uses a number inside the detailed chasing-arrows triangle with the material abbreviation below. Delaware’s former beverage deposit program was repealed in 2010. Businesses should not add a Delaware redemption statement or describe the state’s universal recycling fee as a container deposit.
Legal status at a glance
| Requirement | Status | Operational meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Plastic bottles | mandatory | Single-use bottles of at least 16 fluid ounces but less than 5 gallons are covered. |
| Rigid plastic containers | mandatory | Non-bottle single-use rigid containers of at least 8 ounces but less than 5 gallons are covered. |
| Mark form and placement | mandatory | The 1-7 code uses the statutory chasing-arrows graphic and is molded, imprinted or raised on or near the bottom. |
| Bottle deposit mark | not implemented | Delaware repealed its former deposit program; the current recycling fee system does not create a redemption statement. |
Covered formats and responsible persons
The statute defines a plastic bottle as a single-use container with a neck smaller than the body, a closure and capacity from 16 fluid ounces to less than 5 gallons. A rigid plastic container is a non-bottle, single-use, predominantly resin container with a relatively inflexible finite shape and capacity from 8 ounces to less than 5 gallons. The precise lower and upper thresholds should be retained in the applicability record.
“Person” is defined broadly and the sales prohibition reaches distribution, sale and offers for sale. Manufacturers control molding, but brand owners, importers, distributors and retailers may all need contractual safeguards. A national stock-keeping unit should not rely on the assumption that the converter alone carries Delaware exposure.
Mark design and material selection
The required material categories are PETE 1, HDPE 2, V 3, LDPE 4, PP 5, PS 6 and OTHER 7. The statute prescribes the form of the equilateral triangle, arrows, gaps and clockwise path. The mark must be integrated on or near the bottom by molding, imprinting or raising.
Section 6092 directs interpretation to conform, so far as practical, to nationwide industry standards. That instruction does not authorize replacing the statutory mark merely because a voluntary standard changes. The current Delaware code and any implementing direction should be checked before altering legacy tooling.
Claims and the former deposit system
The resin number identifies composition. It does not guarantee that the package is accepted in Delaware collection programs. Recyclable, compostable and recycled-content statements remain subject to the FTC Act and generally applicable consumer-protection law. Chasing arrows can affect the overall impression even when they appear because state law requires the code.
Delaware replaced its deposit program with a recycling fee system. A fee collected at retail is not a consumer redemption value, and no Delaware deposit wording should be placed on packaging on that basis. Multistate beverage artwork may carry other states’ authorized deposit statements, but those should not imply a Delaware refund.
Enforcement and practical use
A completed violation is subject to a civil penalty from $250 to $1,000. The Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control may seek temporary or permanent injunctive relief. Enforcement is therefore capable of addressing both individual violations and ongoing sale of nonconforming stock.
For compliance, classify the format and capacity, obtain the base resin, select the statutory code, confirm integrated placement near the bottom and inspect all mold cavities. Maintain a separate federal claim assessment and document that no obsolete Delaware deposit statement remains on artwork.
Primary sources and verification
Delaware General Assembly. 7 Del. C. Chapter 60, Subchapter VII, sections 6090-6093. Official Delaware Code
Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. Universal recycling and the former bottle-deposit transition. Agency program information
Federal Trade Commission. Green Guides, 16 CFR Part 260. Official guidance and regulatory text
Federal Trade Commission. Environmental Claims: Summary of the Green Guides. Business guidance
Delaware’s resin mark is current; its former beverage-deposit system is not. Last verified: 21 August 2026.