At Sunrise, we prioritize using clear and effective language to ensure consistent communication with our partners, customers, and community. The recycling industry has its own set of terms and definitions, and this glossary is designed to help clarify commonly used terms in Sunrise’s communications.
Closed-loop system
A system in which materials are reclaimed, returned to, and reused at the same material technical application equivalence or performance specifications as when the material was first used.
By-product synergy (co-product)
An incidental or secondary product made in the manufacturing or synthesis of something else.
Post-consumer
Material that has reached its intended end-user which is no longer being used for its intended purpose.
Pre-consumer (post-industrial)
Material that has failed to meet specifications or has otherwise been diverted from a manufacturing process that has never reached the end-user and has been diverted to be sold to another party for reuse or reprocessing. Excluded is the reutilization of materials generated in a process and capable of being reused as a substitute for a raw material without being modified in any way.
Recovered (reclaimed) material
Material that would have otherwise been disposed of as waste or used for energy recovery but has instead been collected and recovered (reclaimed) as a material input, in lieu of new virgin material for a recycling or manufacturing process.
Recycled content
The proportion of pre-consumer or post-consumer recycled material, by mass, in a product or packaging.
Recycled material
Material that has been collected, separated, and processed from other materials by means of a manufacturing process.
Refurbished
A component or part that is removed from a discarded product and has undergone substantial repair, rebuilding, or remanufacturing before use in a new product or a product that has been removed from service, refurbished, and returned to the field.
Reused
A component or part that is removed from a discarded product and used in a new product with minimal cleaning or cosmetic improvements, or a product that is designed to be used multiple times.
For more information, please see UL Solutions’ Interpreting Pre-Consumer Recycled Content Claims guide.
