On this page
Tennessee: sustainable packaging labelling
Tennessee requires covered plastic bottles and rigid plastic containers to carry a molded, imprinted or raised 1-7 chasing-arrows resin-identification code on or near the bottom. After departmental notice, continued non-compliance is subject to a civil penalty and injunction.
Executive summary
Tennessee’s plastic-container labelling statute, section 68-101-109, is a sale-control rule for covered bottles and rigid containers. No person shall distribute, sell or offer for sale in the state any plastic bottle or rigid plastic container unless it is labelled with a code identifying the appropriate resin type used to produce the structure of the container. The label is defined as a molded, imprinted or raised symbol on or near the bottom.
The code uses a number within three triangulated arrows and letters below the triangle, following the traditional 1 PETE through 7 OTHER series. The section and any rules adopted under it are to be interpreted to conform with nationwide plastics industry standards. The resin mark remains a material identifier. It does not establish that the finished package is recyclable in Tennessee.
Legal status at a glance
| Requirement | Status | Operational meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Covered plastic bottle or rigid container | mandatory | The package carries a molded, imprinted or raised 1-7 chasing-arrows code on or near the bottom. |
| 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 Tennessee consumer-protection law. |
Covered bottles and rigid containers
A “plastic bottle” is a plastic container 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. “Container,” unless otherwise specified, refers to those two articles.
The statutory “label” is a molded, imprinted or raised symbol on or near the bottom. A printed sleeve or a sticker that is not molded, imprinted or raised into the container should not be treated as equivalent. Capacity, neck geometry, single-use intent and rigidity should be recorded from the finished article.
Required symbol and industry-standard construction
The code consists of 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 Environment and Conservation maintains a list of the label codes and provides it upon request. Subsection (b)(1) directs interpretation to conform with nationwide plastics industry standards, which is relevant when a national mold uses the same 1-7 series.
Notice, penalty and injunction
Subsection (c) is a notice-then-penalty structure. After the department notifies a person that plastic containers were distributed, sold or offered for sale in the state not in compliance with subsection (b), a person who thereafter distributes, sells or offers for sale non-compliant containers is subject to a civil penalty of 50 dollars for violating such notification and may be enjoined from such violations. The first operational risk is therefore a departmental notice that inventory remains non-compliant.
Claims and neighbouring regimes
The resin code identifies the structure resin. Surrounding words or an unqualified “recyclable” statement require separate substantiation under the Green Guides. Tennessee was not identified as having a packaging-specific environmental-marketing claims statute or a statewide beverage-container deposit programme.
Practical artwork checklist
Classify the finished article under the bottle and rigid-container definitions, including the 16-ounce and eight-ounce thresholds. Confirm a molded, imprinted or raised 1-7 chasing-arrows code on or near the bottom. Keep recyclability wording out of the resin-code decision. Retain the department’s current code list if a non-standard resin is used, and treat any departmental non-compliance notice as an inventory hold.
Primary sources and verification
Justia. Tennessee Code section 68-101-109, labelling of plastic containers. Current consolidated text
FindLaw. Tenn. Code Ann. section 68-101-109. 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 molded-bottom definition of “label” should be applied before accepting a printed sleeve as equivalent. Last verified: 21 August 2026.