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Kentucky: sustainable packaging labelling
Kentucky requires a molded 1-7 resin-identification label on covered plastic bottles and rigid containers. Its statute contains a distinctive approval mechanism allowing certain multilayer or mixed-resin containers to use a primary-resin code when recyclability documentation satisfies the environmental cabinet.
Executive summary
Kentucky uses the traditional mandatory resin-identification system for plastic bottles and rigid containers within specified capacity ranges. Section 224.50-585 requires a label molded into the bottom and prescribes the numbered chasing-arrows format. The ordinary rule follows the resin used to manufacture the container.
The statute also includes a more specialized route for certain multilayer containers or containers whose components use different resins. A manufacturer seeking to identify only the primary resin must submit evidence to the Energy and Environment Cabinet, including documentation based on Association of Plastic Recyclers testing and guidance, and obtain approval. This is not a self-certification shortcut. Without the required documentation and cabinet letter, the manufacturer should follow the ordinary statutory coding rule.
Legal status at a glance
| Requirement | Status | Operational meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Covered plastic bottle | mandatory | A bottle of at least 16 ounces but less than five gallons requires the molded code on its bottom. |
| Covered rigid plastic container | mandatory | A rigid container of at least eight ounces but less than five gallons also requires the code. |
| Multilayer or mixed-resin primary code | conditional approval | A manufacturer may use the primary-resin designation only through the statute’s documentation and cabinet-approval route. |
| General recyclability representation | claim-dependent | The ordinary resin code is not itself a representation that the container will be recycled. |
Scope and prescribed format
A plastic bottle is covered when it has a neck smaller than its body and a capacity of at least 16 ounces but less than five gallons. A rigid plastic container is covered at a capacity of at least eight ounces but less than five gallons. The requirement has applied to covered containers sold in Kentucky since 1 January 1992.
The “label” is molded into the bottom of the container. It consists of a number from 1 through 7 surrounded by three arrows forming a triangle, with the appropriate resin abbreviation. Because the statute specifies both location and form, an adhesive panel elsewhere on the package should not be assumed to satisfy it. Tooling drawings and production samples should show the bottom mark clearly.
Multilayer and mixed-resin approval route
Multilayer construction and components made from different polymers can make a single resin number misleading. Kentucky nevertheless permits a manufacturer to use the code for the primary resin when the manufacturer provides documentation satisfactory to the cabinet. The evidence must include a letter from the Association of Plastic Recyclers confirming that the container meets or exceeds the relevant APR Critical Guidance and General Guidance Bottle-to-Bottle protocol.
If the cabinet accepts the documentation, it issues an approval letter and appropriate designation. The manufacturer should retain the submission, laboratory and protocol materials, APR correspondence, cabinet decision, approved designation and exact package specification. A resin substitution, barrier-layer change, colour change or structural redesign can undermine the basis for the approval and should trigger reassessment.
What the code does and does not establish
The standard 1-7 code identifies material class. It does not demonstrate that a particular Kentucky recycling program collects the package or that the package is sorted and reprocessed at scale. The special approval process has a recycling-design component, but even an approved primary-resin designation should not be expanded into an unqualified statewide recyclable claim without separate evidence under the Green Guides.
Claims should distinguish the package body from closures, labels, liners and other components. A statement about design compatibility is not automatically a statement about collection access or actual recycling outcomes.
Who bears the obligation
The statute regulates covered containers sold in Kentucky and places the special documentation route on the manufacturer. In practice, the manufacturer controls the material and molding information, while a brand owner, importer or distributor may control state market release. Contracts should require the approved resin specification and any cabinet letter to accompany the package record.
A private-label retailer should not rely solely on visual comparison with a supplier's prior package. It should retain the material declaration and verify that any special approval corresponds to the exact container revision being purchased.
Enforcement and change control
Section 224.50-585 sits within Kentucky's environmental-protection title and is administered through the state's environmental framework. Applicable enforcement remedies depend on the violation and the wider provisions of Chapter 224; the section should not be reduced to an unsupported single fine. Cabinet refusal or withdrawal of a requested designation also has an immediate specification consequence.
Change control is especially important. Any alteration to resin, layer structure, adhesive, sleeve, closure or colour should be reviewed against the existing code and, where applicable, the testing behind the cabinet approval. The legal file should connect the approved designation to a dated bill of materials.
Practical artwork checklist
Confirm bottle or rigid-container status and capacity, identify every resin component and inspect the bottom mold. If the package is multilayer or contains materially different components, decide whether the ordinary code is accurate or whether the statutory primary-resin approval route is needed. Do not release the primary code until the required evidence and cabinet approval are complete. Review any recyclable statement independently.
Primary sources and verification
Kentucky General Assembly. KRS 224.50-585, plastic-container labelling. Official current statute
Kentucky General Assembly. KRS Chapter 224.50, waste-management provisions. Official chapter index
Kentucky Revised Statutes. Section 224.50-585, current consolidated text. Consolidated section
Federal Trade Commission. Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims, 16 C.F.R. Part 260. Official Green Guides
Federal Trade Commission. Environmental Claims: Summary of the Green Guides. Business guidance
Any primary-resin approval should be matched to the exact current container specification. Last verified: 21 August 2026.