OCS blue

For more than 25 years the plastics industry has promoted Operation Clean Sweep (OCS), a campaign dedicated to helping every plastic resin handling operation achieve zero plastic resin loss. The Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) and the American Chemistry Council (ACC) invite companies to take their commitment – an annual pledge committing to OCS principles by plastics companies or plastics employees – to the next level.

OCS blue is a new, data-driven VIP member offering available to current OCS members. The new member level will act as a recognition for companies excelling within the existing program. OCS blue enhances the commitment to management, measurement, and reporting of unrecovered plastic releases into the environment from resin handling facilities. To qualify for OCS blue, all resin handling locations within a company must be active participants.

 

OCS blue members will receive:

• An OCS blue member plaque
• OCS blue logo for use on websites/emails/internal communications
• OCS website recognition
• OCS newsletter recognition

 

To apply for OCSblue, please email ocs@plasticsindustry.org

 

OCS BLUE ACTIVITIES

By becoming an OCS blue Member, my organization commits to fulfill the following activities:

• Conduct regular training and new employee onboarding for resin handling employees on: awareness and accountability for pellet loss prevention, containment, and clean-up.
• Display the OCS plaque, certificate, and posters to reinforce the company’s OCS commitment among its employees and business partners.
• Periodically conduct an internal audit to confirm whether management systems meet the requirements and objectives of OCS blue.
• Enable employees to provide feedback on the company’s pellet containment program.
• Establish written procedures and checklists for actions inside member operated facilities to locate potential risks, prevent pellet loss, and manage clean-up.
• Periodically conduct site inspections based on risk.
• Educate transportation partners to help them understand the importance of OCS and their participation, sharing the OCS transportation brochure.
• Annually share with PLASTICS or ACC information on your company’s best management practices (BMPs) for implementation of its OCS blue Membership commitments. This information will be used in OCS literature and on the OCS website. (There is no prescribed method of reporting, but all listed OCS champions will be expected to provide some information/ content for your company’s profile on the OCS website. Companies do not need to develop new BMPs each year, but rather confirm or update BMPs provided to PLASTICS or ACC.)
• Participate in an OCS best practices event, where the company is formally recognized as an OCS Blue Member. (Attendee should be an OCS champion and or corporate representative.)

PROGRESS REPORTING METRIC

OCS blue member companies commit to the following:

• Metric Reporting – Companies must annually report metric data to the Operation Clean Sweep program.
• Metric Data – Data to be reported annually includes the number and volume of incidents of any unrecovered release of plastic pellets, flakes, powders^[1], or granules, within the physical custody^[2] of a member company, from containment to ground or water outside member-operated facilities and estimated to be greater than 0.5 litres or 0.5 kilograms per incident.

EMPLOYEE ROLES WITHIN OCS BLUE

• OCS blue Champion – This person signs the OCS blue pledge on behalf of their company. committing it to fulfilling the program criteria.
• OCS blue Primary Contact – This person is the logistical contact for the implementation of the program. They will participate in monthly meetings with all other OCS blue members.
• OCS blue Facility Contact – In the OCS blue program, all facilities that handle plastic resin must be active participants in implementing OCS practices. Companies will assign a Facility Contact at each participating facility to manage OCS practices at their respective location.
• OCS blue Reporting Contact – This role is specific to OCS blue. This person is responsible for submitting annual spillage data to OCS Staff.

[1] See Operation Clean Sweep Guidance Manual for provisions regarding plastic dust.

[2] “Physical custody” means holding the property under physical (visible) possession.

 

OCS blue Members

• Advanced Drainage Systems
• Alterra Energy
• Americas Styrenics LLC
• BASF Corporation
• Bayport Polymers LLC
• Berry Global
• Braskem
• C&G/Mercury Plastics
• Celanese
• Chase Plastics Services
• Chevron Phillips Chemical
• Covestro LLC
• Custom Commodities
• Dart Container
• Dow
• DuPont
• Eastman
• EE-Jay Motor Transports, Inc.
• ExxonMobil Chemical
• Formosa Plastics Corporation
• Fortron Industries
• Frontier Transport
• G&D Trucking/Hoffman Transportation
• Gulf Coast Growth Ventures
• Ingenia Polymers
• Inteplast Group
• Intertape Polymer Corporation
• King Plastics
• LyondellBasell
• Novolex
• Occidental Chemical Company
• Packwell
• PakTech
• Petroleum Service Corporation (PSC Group, LLC)
• Plastic Express
• Plastics Plus Technology
• Quantix SCS
• Repsco
• R&J Trucking
• Roplast Industries
• RSI Leasing
• SABIC
• Shell Chemical
• Solvay
• Sunrise Plastic
• Sunrise Services, LLC
• TotalEnergies Petrochemicals and Refining USA, Inc.
• Trinseo