North Carolina: sustainable packaging labelling

Executive summary

North Carolina combines a general resin-identification duty with a claim-triggered warning. General Statute section 130A-309.10(e) prohibits distribution, sale or offer for sale of a rigid plastic container, including a plastic beverage container, unless the container has a molded label indicating the plastic resin used to produce it. The prescribed graphic is the traditional 1-7 chasing-arrows triangle with letters below. Containers with a capacity of less than eight fluid ounces or more than five gallons are exempt from that subsection.

Subsection (e1), added by Session Law 2013-409 (House Bill 315), addresses a different risk. No person may distribute, sell or offer for sale a rigid plastic container, including a plastic beverage container, labelled “degradable,” “biodegradable,” “compostable” or other words suggesting that the container will biodegrade, unless the container complies with subsection (e) and also includes the statement “Not Recyclable, Do Not Recycle” in print of the same colour, contrast, font and size as the biodegradation language. The 2013 act applies to plastic containers distributed, sold or offered for sale after 1 July 2014.

Legal status at a glance

Resin-identification requirement

Subsection (e) requires a molded label. The code consists of a number placed within three triangulated arrows and letters placed below. The three arrows form an equilateral triangle with the common point of each line forming each angle of the triangle at the midpoint of each arrow and rounded with a short radius. The arrowhead of each arrow is at the midpoint of each side of the triangle, with a short gap separating the arrowhead from the base of the adjacent arrow. The triangle formed by the three arrows curved at their midpoints depicts a clockwise path around the code number. The label must appear on or near the bottom of the container and be clearly visible.

The numbers and letters are 1 PETE, 2 HDPE, 3 V, 4 LDPE, 5 PP, 6 PS and 7 OTHER. The symbol identifies resin; it is not a finding that the package is accepted or reprocessed in North Carolina recycling systems. A sticker or a code printed elsewhere should not be treated as equivalent to the prescribed molded label.

Degradable, biodegradable and compostable labelling

Subsection (e1) is triggered by labelling, not by the mere composition of the plastic. The listed terms are “degradable,” “biodegradable,” “compostable,” or other words suggesting that the container will biodegrade. If those words appear, two conditions must both be satisfied: the container complies with subsection (e), and it includes “Not Recyclable, Do Not Recycle” in print of the same colour, contrast, font and size as the language suggesting biodegradation.

The matching-print requirement is operationally exact. A small, low-contrast “do not recycle” line next to a large compostable claim does not meet the statutory visual-parity test. The subsection does not itself define “compostable” by reference to ASTM D6400 or a certification body, and it does not create a compostability logo. House Bill 315 became Session Law 2013-409 and applies to plastic containers distributed, sold or offered for sale after 1 July 2014.

Interaction of the two subsections

A covered rigid container that makes no degradability claim needs only the molded resin code. A covered container that uses the listed biodegradation language needs both the resin code and the matching non-recyclable statement. The resin code does not authorise a recyclable claim, and the non-recyclable statement does not, by itself, establish that a compostability claim is scientifically substantiated. Each representation still requires its own evidence under federal claim law.

Voluntary claims and federal law

Voluntary recyclable, recycled-content, reusable and general environmental-benefit claims remain subject to the FTC Green Guides and North Carolina’s general prohibitions on unfair or deceptive practices. If a business chooses to use “compostable” on a covered rigid plastic container, subsection (e1) requires the non-recyclable statement, but the Green Guides still require competent scientific evidence for the compostability claim itself.

Enforcement and practical consequences

Section 130A-309.10 is located in the solid-waste chapter and is framed as a prohibited act relating to packaging. Distribution, sale or offer for sale of a non-conforming container is the operative trigger. The Federal Trade Commission retains authority over interstate environmental marketing. North Carolina’s matching-print warning is not a safe harbour for an otherwise unsubstantiated compostable or biodegradable claim.

Practical artwork checklist

Classify the article as a rigid plastic container, measure capacity, and inspect a molded 1-7 chasing-arrows code on or near the bottom. Search the package for “degradable,” “biodegradable,” “compostable” and similar biodegradation language. If any such language appears, add “Not Recyclable, Do Not Recycle” in the same colour, contrast, font and size, and retain the proof.

Primary sources and verification

North Carolina General Assembly. G.S. 130A-309.10, prohibited acts relating to packaging and coded labelling of plastic containers. Official statute

North Carolina General Assembly. Session Law 2013-409, House Bill 315, degradable plastics labelling. Introduced bill text

UNC School of Government. Bill summary for H 315, recording the 1 July 2014 application date. Legislative summary

Plastics Industry Association. State plastic resin identification code survey, hosted by Oregon DEQ. Comparative survey

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

The matching-print warning is required only when the biodegradation language is used on a covered container. Last verified: 21 August 2026.