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Ohio: sustainable packaging labelling
Ohio requires manufacturers and distributors of covered new, unfilled plastic bottles and rigid plastic containers for use in the state to mold or raise a 1-7 chasing-arrows resin-identification label on or near the bottom. The code identifies resin and is not a legal guarantee of recyclability.
Executive summary
Ohio’s packaging-labelling contribution, for the categories tracked here, is a resin-identification code. Revised Code section 3734.60 provides that, on and after 1 January 1991, no person shall manufacture or distribute for use in this state any new, unfilled plastic bottle or rigid plastic container unless it bears a label with the appropriate code indicating the plastic resin used to produce the bottle or container. The prescribed graphic is the traditional chasing-arrows triangle with a number at the centre and letters immediately below.
The statute does not create a beverage-deposit mark, a compostability logo, a flushability warning or a packaging producer-responsibility consumer symbol. It also does not convert the resin code into a recyclability claim. Voluntary environmental representations remain subject to the FTC Green Guides and Ohio’s general consumer-protection law.
Legal status at a glance
| Requirement | Status | Operational meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Covered plastic bottle or rigid container | mandatory | A new, unfilled article manufactured or distributed for use in Ohio carries the prescribed 1-7 chasing-arrows resin code. |
| Size thresholds | in force | Plastic bottles of at least 16 ounces but less than five gallons, and rigid plastic containers of at least eight ounces but less than five gallons, are in scope. |
| Beverage-deposit, compostability or wipe mark | none identified | No generally applicable state presentation rule in these categories was identified within this report’s scope. |
| Voluntary environmental claim | claim-dependent | Claims remain subject to the FTC Green Guides and generally applicable Ohio consumer-protection law. |
Covered bottles and rigid containers
Section 3734.60(A) defines “plastic bottle” as a plastic container that has a neck smaller than the body, that accepts a screw-type cap, snap cap or other closure, and that has a capacity of at least 16 ounces but less than five gallons. “Rigid plastic container” means any formed or molded container, other than a plastic bottle, that is intended for a single use, is composed primarily of plastic resin, has a relatively inflexible finite shape or form, and has a capacity of at least eight ounces but less than five gallons. “Label” means a molded imprint or raised symbol that includes a code consisting of letters and numbers and is placed on or near the bottom.
The operative duty in division (B) reaches a person who manufactures or distributes for use in this state any new, unfilled plastic bottle or rigid plastic container. Classification should use the finished, empty article rather than a filled retail description. Flexible films, refillable bottles outside the definition, and articles below or above the capacity thresholds do not become subject to the section merely because a resin number could be applied.
Required symbol and resin categories
The label consists of an equilateral triangle formed by three curved arrows of short radius, with the apex of each point of the triangle at the midpoint of each arrow. The head of each arrow is at the midpoint of each side of the triangle, with a short gap between the head of the arrow and the base of the succeeding arrow. The triangle depicts a clockwise path around the code number, which is placed at the centre. The code letters are placed immediately below the triangle.
The prescribed pairs are 1 PETE, 2 HDPE, 3 V, 4 LDPE, 5 PP, 6 PS and, for any other plastic including multilayer materials, 7 OTHER. Division (B)(7) also authorises additional materials named in rules adopted under division (C), which directs that any such extra codes be consistent with other states. Division (D) requires the environmental protection agency to maintain a list of the prescribed codes and to provide a copy to any person upon request.
Different-material labels and base cups
A plastic bottle or rigid plastic container having a label or base cup composed of material different from that comprising the rest of the bottle or container shall be labelled with the code for the basic material used in the bottle or container. The statute therefore privileges the principal structure rather than a minority closure, sleeve or cup.
Claims and neighbouring regimes
The resin code communicates material identity. It is not a finding that the package is accepted in Ohio curbside programmes or that it is recycled in practice. Surrounding words, enlarged arrows or an unqualified “recyclable” statement can create a broader claim that requires evidence under the Green Guides. Ohio has no statewide beverage-container deposit programme.
Administration and practical consequences
The duty is a prohibition on manufacture or distribution for use in the state of a new, unfilled covered article that lacks the label. Section 3734.60 itself, as reviewed, does not set a unique civil-penalty amount in the labelling section; enforcement consequences should be taken from the surrounding chapter machinery and from general consumer-protection law rather than invented here.
Practical artwork checklist
Confirm neck geometry, closure type, single-use intent, capacity and basic resin. Inspect a molded or raised chasing-arrows code on or near the bottom, with the correct number at the centre and letters below. Record any different-material label or base cup and the basic-material code used. Do not treat the symbol as a recyclable claim.
Primary sources and verification
Ohio Laws. Ohio Revised Code section 3734.60, plastic containers labelled with code for basic material. Official statute
Plastics Industry Association. State plastic resin identification code survey, hosted by Oregon DEQ. Comparative survey
National Conference of State Legislatures. State beverage-container deposit laws. State-law overview
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
Size thresholds sit in the definitions in division (A), not only in the operative sentence. Last verified: 21 August 2026.