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Oklahoma: sustainable packaging labelling
Oklahoma prohibits distribution, receipt for sale or offer for sale of a covered plastic bottle or rigid plastic container unless it carries the prescribed 1-7 chasing-arrows resin-identification code. Violation of the Plastic Container Labeling Act is a misdemeanor. The code identifies resin and is not a legal guarantee of recyclability.
Executive summary
Oklahoma’s Plastic Container Labeling Act, title 27A of the Oklahoma Statutes, sections 2-11-501 to 2-11-503, is a resin-identification regime. Section 2-11-503(A) provides that no person shall distribute, receive for sale or offer for sale in this state any plastic bottle or rigid plastic container unless the container is labelled with a code identifying the appropriate resin type used to produce the structure of the container. The prescribed graphic is the traditional triangulated-arrows device with letters below.
The Act does not create a deposit mark, a compostability logo or a packaging EPR consumer symbol. A person convicted of violating its provisions is guilty of a misdemeanor. Voluntary environmental claims remain subject to the FTC Green Guides and Oklahoma’s general deceptive-trade law.
Legal status at a glance
| Requirement | Status | Operational meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Covered plastic bottle or rigid container | mandatory | The package carries the prescribed 1-7 chasing-arrows resin code identifying the structure resin. |
| Size thresholds | in force | Plastic bottles of 16 fluid ounces or more but less than five gallons, and rigid plastic containers of eight ounces or more 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 Oklahoma consumer-protection law. |
Covered bottles and rigid containers
Section 2-11-502 supplies the definitions that determine coverage. A “plastic bottle” is a plastic container intended for single use that has a neck smaller than the body, accepts a screw-type, snap cap or other closure, and has a capacity of 16 fluid ounces or more but less than five gallons. A “rigid plastic container” is any formed or molded container, other than a bottle, intended for single use, composed predominantly of plastic resin, and having a relatively inflexible finite shape or form with a capacity of eight ounces or more but less than five gallons. “Label” means a molded, imprinted or raised symbol on or near the bottom of a plastic container or bottle.
Those size thresholds sit in the definitions section, not in the operative labelling sentence. Surveys that omit the definitions section will understate Oklahoma’s limitation. A printed sleeve that is not a molded, imprinted or raised bottom symbol does not satisfy the definition of “label.”
Required symbol and sale control
Section 2-11-503(B) requires a number placed within three triangulated arrows and letters placed below the triangle of arrows. The triangulated arrows shall be equilateral, formed by three arrows with the apex of each point of the triangle at the midpoint of each arrow, rounded with a short radius. The pointer of each arrow shall be at the midpoint of each side of the triangle, with a short gap separating the pointer from the base of the adjacent arrow. The triangle, formed by the three arrows curved at their midpoints, shall depict a clockwise path around the code number.
The numbers and letters are 1 PETE, 2 HDPE, 3 V, 4 LDPE, 5 PP, 6 PS and 7 OTHER. The Department of Environmental Quality maintains a list of the label codes and provides it upon request. The Environmental Quality Board may promulgate a different labelling system if the nationally recognised standard changes. The sale-control language reaches distribution, receipt for sale and offer for sale in the state.
Claims and neighbouring regimes
The resin code identifies the structure resin. It is not a recyclability determination. Surrounding words or an unqualified “recyclable” statement require separate substantiation under the Green Guides. Oklahoma was not identified as having a packaging-specific environmental-marketing claims statute. No statewide beverage-container deposit programme was identified.
Penalty and administration
Section 2-11-503 provides that any person convicted of violating the provisions is guilty of a misdemeanor. Because the prohibition reaches receipt for sale and offer for sale, retailers and distributors as well as manufacturers should confirm that covered packaging entering Oklahoma inventory carries the molded, imprinted or raised bottom code.
Practical artwork checklist
Apply the section 2-11-502 definitions, including the 16-ounce and eight-ounce thresholds. Confirm single-use status and basic resin. Inspect a molded, imprinted or raised 1-7 chasing-arrows code on or near the bottom. Do not treat the symbol as a recyclable claim.
Primary sources and verification
Justia. Oklahoma Statutes title 27A, section 2-11-502, plastic bottles or containers — definitions. Current consolidated text
Justia. Oklahoma Statutes title 27A, section 2-11-503, plastic container labelling — codes — penalty. Current consolidated text
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 definitions section, not only section 2-11-503, determines whether a package is in scope. Last verified: 21 August 2026.