Recyclable Packaging and Plastic Identification Policy

This policy applies to all packaging, crating and protective materials used to ship equipment and parts that Petrano supplies to a destination in Canada, and in particular to the Province of Quebec, including primary and secondary packaging applied by the OEM at the point of manufacture (cartons, wrapping films, foam or void-fill inserts, moisture-barrier bags, corner and edge protectors), transit packaging added for international and domestic freight (wooden crates and skids, strapping, pallets, shock and tilt indicators, additional overpacks applied by freight forwarders), and plastic components that are part of the packaging system itself (film, bags, foam, blister inserts, strapping) as distinct from plastic components that are part of the equipment.

It covers all parties in the supply chain that touch this packaging before it reaches the end customer: the OEM, international and domestic freight forwarders, customs brokers, and last-mile carriers engaged as third-party logistics providers.

This policy does not extend to Petrano’s own office consumables or general administrative waste, and it does not purport to regulate the OEM’s manufacturing process. Where a requirement properly belongs to the OEM as producer, this policy describes how Petrano obtains assurance and documentation from that OEM rather than asserting control Petrano does not have.

ÉEQ: Éco Entreprises Québec, the organization designated by RECYC-QUÉBEC to manage Quebec’s modernized selective collection (curbside recycling) system under the Extended Producer Responsibility model.

Möbius loop: the three-arrow loop symbol used, per ISO 14021 on self-declared environmental claims, to indicate that a product or its packaging is recyclable.

Resin Identification Code (RIC): the numbered triangular marking system (1 to 7) maintained under ASTM D7611, with its international counterpart ISO 11469, used to identify the resin type of a plastic article for sorting and recycling.

ISPM 15: the international phytosanitary standard governing heat treatment and certification marking of wood packaging material (crates, pallets, dunnage) used in international trade.

For goods delivered to a destination in Quebec, Petrano will require, obtain and pass through to the buyer documentation confirming that the packaging supplied with the equipment is capable of being recycled or recovered through Quebec’s selective collection system, and that plastic packaging components are marked in accordance with recognized resin identification standards, to the extent this is technically feasible for the product category and obtainable from the OEM. Where full compliance is not yet achieved on a given order, Petrano will disclose this honestly to the buyer, state what has been requested from the OEM, and set out the timeline through which outstanding documentation will be provided.

Petrano does not manufacture packaging and cannot unilaterally change how an OEM packs equipment at the factory. Petrano’s leverage is contractual and procedural: it builds recyclable-packaging and marking requirements into its purchase orders, requests and checks OEM declarations before shipment, specifies compliant materials for any additional protective packaging applied by its logistics partners, and supports the buyer’s disposal or recycling of packaging at the point of delivery. This policy commits Petrano to exercising that leverage consistently and to keeping a documented record of having done so on every order shipped into Quebec.

Quebec’s modernized selective collection system is an Extended Producer Responsibility regime under the Environment Quality Act and its Regulation respecting a system of selective collection of certain residual materials. RECYC-QUÉBEC designated Éco Entreprises Québec as the management body for this system, with the modernized blue-bin system rolled out across Quebec through 2025 and reporting for the industrial, commercial and institutional sector phased in through 2026.

The formal producer obligation to register, report and pay fees under this regime falls on the entity that first places the packaged product on the Quebec market, which can vary by transaction. Petrano confirms its own registration status and obligations, if any, with ÉEQ directly for the shipments concerned. Independently of where the formal producer obligation lands, Petrano’s commitment is a packaging and documentation commitment: it ensures the physical packaging is recyclable and correctly marked, and passes through the OEM’s packaging composition information so that whichever party bears reporting duties has the data needed to fulfil them.

Petrano’s purchase orders for goods destined for delivery in Quebec incorporate a Supplier Packaging Requirements clause covering, in substance: recyclable or recoverable packaging materials to the extent practicable for the product category; a resin identification code on each distinct plastic packaging component, consistent with ASTM D7611 and ISO 11469; the Möbius loop applied only to packaging elements the supplier confirms as recyclable, consistent with ISO 14021; ISPM 15 treatment and stamping of all wood packaging by a certified facility; and a Packaging Declaration provided before shipment identifying each packaging material, its composition, its recyclability status, and the applied markings and stamps, with supporting photographs on request.

Where an OEM cannot meet a specific element of this clause for a given order, for example a packaging material for which no recyclable equivalent is commercially available for a specialized precision instrument, Petrano requires the OEM to state this in writing, explain the technical constraint, and identify any alternative disposal or take-back arrangement. Petrano discloses any such exception to the buyer rather than represent full compliance where none exists.

At purchase order issuance, the Supplier Packaging Requirements clause is attached to the purchase order sent to the OEM.

At order confirmation, Petrano requests the OEM’s Packaging Declaration in writing, allowing sufficient lead time before dispatch.

Before shipment release, Petrano reviews the returned declaration against its verification checklist. Any gap is raised with the OEM before the shipment leaves the factory where the schedule allows; where it does not, the gap is documented and disclosed to the buyer alongside a remediation plan.

At delivery, Petrano provides the buyer with a copy of the OEM’s Packaging Declaration together with Petrano’s own verification record as part of the delivery documentation package.

Petrano retains the declaration, checklist and related correspondence in the order file for a minimum of seven years.

Petrano distinguishes two related but different markings and requires OEMs to apply the correct one for the correct purpose, consistent with ISO 14021. The Möbius loop is a recyclability claim: it must be substantiated and must not be applied to a component that lacks a realistic recycling pathway. The Resin Identification Code is a material-identification mark, not a recyclability claim: its purpose is to allow sorters and recyclers to identify the plastic type.

Petrano requires that every distinct plastic packaging component supplied with equipment destined for Quebec carry a legible RIC marking, and that the Möbius loop be applied only to those packaging elements the OEM can substantiate as recyclable. Where the OEM’s standard packaging uses a composite or multi-material foam or film that cannot be resin-coded or recycled through standard streams, Petrano requires this to be identified in the Packaging Declaration so that Petrano can advise the buyer and, where feasible, substitute a recyclable alternative for the transit-packaging layer under Petrano’s own control.

Petrano operates a depot in Winnipeg for stocked products and spare parts. Large equipment is not warehoused: it moves from the OEM’s factory to the end customer through freight forwarders and logistics partners, and Petrano does not itself pack or crate it. Petrano’s control over transit packaging for these shipments is exercised through the instructions it gives these partners, and packaging for depot shipments follows the same recyclable-materials requirements.

Petrano requires its freight-forwarding and logistics partners to use wooden crates, pallets and dunnage carrying a valid ISPM 15 stamp from a certified treatment facility, confirmed and photographed before loading; to use recyclable corrugated cardboard and paper-based void fill in preference to expanded polystyrene or other hard-to-recycle foams for any additional protective packaging, where this does not compromise the equipment’s protection; to avoid single-use plastic strapping or wrap where a recyclable or reusable alternative provides equivalent securing performance; and to identify to Petrano any essential foam or moisture-barrier material for which no recyclable equivalent exists, so it can be disclosed to the buyer rather than mislabelled as recyclable.

Responsibility for physical disposal of packaging rests with the receiving site, which participates in its municipal or institutional selective collection stream. Petrano’s role is to make sure the buyer has what it needs to route packaging correctly.

Petrano provides with delivery a plain-language packaging guide identifying each packaging material present in the shipment, its RIC marking where applicable, and whether it is intended for the recyclable stream, flagging any component that is not recyclable so it can be routed deliberately. Petrano confirms the ISPM 15 stamp location so the receiving site can identify treated wood for appropriate disposal or reuse. Where operationally practical, Petrano offers to arrange, at the buyer’s request and cost, removal and recycling of crating and packaging materials through its logistics partner, and records whether the buyer accepted or declined the offer.