WASHINGTON, D.C. (Jan. 30, 2025) — The Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) and the American Chemistry Council (ACC) have announced the launch of Operation Clean Sweep® (OCS) Logistics Verification, a facility-level inspection program designed exclusively for OCS Logistics members. Building upon the success of OCS Blue Verification, the program has been expanded with the goal of applying a rigorous model to prevent resin loss to the critical ‘middle’ of the supply chain—trucking companies, transloading companies, distributors, warehouses, and service providers. OCS Logistics Verification ensures that more than 25 required management practices to prevent resin loss have been successfully implemented at the facility level.
“The new OCS Logistics Verification program represents a significant increase in the strength and transparency of the plastics industry’s efforts to prevent resin loss,” said PLASTICS’ President and CEO Matt Seaholm. “By proactively verifying their operations, OCS Logistics members are demonstrating their leadership and continued commitment to protecting the environment and advancing sustainability throughout our industry.”
“America’s Plastic Makers, represented by ACC’s Plastics Division, have led the charge to be good stewards in resin management, taking significant steps to increase transparency and knowledge sharing that help create safer, cleaner communities in the U.S.,” said America’s Plastic Makers President Ross Eisenberg. “The OCS Logistics Verification Program strengthens our collective efforts to prevent plastic resin loss, ensuring these valuable materials stay in the supply chain and out of the environment. By embracing this verification process, industry leaders are demonstrating accountability and driving meaningful progress for businesses, consumers, and our planet.”
“Savage is proud to participate in the OCS Logistics Verification Program, which further strengthens our ability to prevent the loss of plastic pellets and resins across our operations,” said Troy Savage, Senior Vice President and Group Leader, Rail and Terminals at Savage. “We handle significant quantities of plastic pellets and resins at our transload terminals and other rail facilities, and we’ve made critical infrastructure investments in our loading areas to prevent product loss. By doing the right thing, finding a better way, and making a difference for our customers, team members, and communities, we’re committed to ensuring these materials are properly handled throughout the supply chain.”
“Preventing plastic resin loss across the logistics chain is vital to advancing environmental sustainability and reducing carbon footprints—key priorities of TALKE’s mission for Crafting Responsible Logistics,” said Richard Heath, President & CEO at TALKE. “The newly developed OCS Logistics Verification framework supports this mission by offering a structured process to evaluate resin loss performance, enhance containment efficiency, and achieve world-class OCS standards. This framework ensures measurable, long-term progress in sustainability efforts, benefiting both the industry and society.”
“Resin loss is a critical issue for our industry,” says John Labrie, CEO of Quantix. “As we increase reliance on plastic and in turn, the production of resin, we need to focus on securing that product at every stage of the supply chain. Product loss is about more than just the money. Our customers set aggressive sustainability goals. As a key partner of their supply chain, their goals become our goals, and you simply cannot provide high quality service like we do without deep consideration for your customer’s product.”
This program is exclusively available to OCS Logistics members to verify critical resin loss prevention practices have been successfully implemented at logistics facilities and during the transportation of plastic resin between sites. All OCS Logistics members are required to complete at least one verification inspection by December 31, 2025. Subsequent inspections are required at additional facilities in the first full verification cycle starting in 2026.
The program complements OCS Blue Verification, launched in September 2023, to address resin loss prevention practices at material suppliers and processors, ensuring accountability across the supply chain.
To provide additional information about the program, Operation Clean Sweep® will host a webinar in February 2025. PLASTICS and ACC encourage OCS Logistics members to register for the webinar and reach out to info@opcleansweep.org for additional information.
Operation Clean Sweep was founded by the Plastics Industry Association in 1991 and is managed in partnership with the American Chemistry Council’s Plastics Division. The industry-led program is dedicated to helping companies move toward zero plastic resin loss and is active in more than 60 countries worldwide. OCS members in the U.S. represent a diversity of the plastics value chain, ranging from companies making and distributing plastic, to transportation companies moving plastic, and processors manufacturing final products.
The Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) is the only organization that supports the entire plastics supply chain, including Equipment Suppliers, Material Suppliers, Processors, and Recyclers, representing over one million workers in our $519 billion U.S. industry. PLASTICS advances the priorities of our members who are dedicated to investing in technologies that improve capabilities and advances in recycling and sustainability and providing essential products that allow for the protection and safety of our lives. Since 1937, PLASTICS has been working to make its members, and the eighth largest U.S. manufacturing industry, more globally competitive while supporting circularity through educational initiatives, industry-leading insights and events, convening opportunities and policy advocacy, including the largest plastics trade show in the Americas, NPE: The Plastics Show.
The American Chemistry Council’s Plastics Division represents America’s Plastic MakersSM plus the half million+ scientists, engineers, technicians, and other innovators who make plastics for many essential and lifesaving products that are vital to modern life. America’s Plastic Makers continue to embrace change. We’re linking innovation with sustainability, deploying next generation technologies to make plastics lighter, stronger, more efficient and more recyclable, so we can meet our goal for 100% of U.S. plastic packaging to be reused, recycled, or recovered by 2040. We’re making sustainable change to help build a cleaner, safer, more sustainable future for generations to come.