ReMA (ISRI) Plastic Film Specs: What Makes Grade A vs. Grade B

If you generate or trade polyethylene film, the difference between Grade A and Grade B comes down to two numbers: how much of the bale is clear, and how much contamination rides along with it. 

The industry reference for those numbers is provided by the ReMa film specs, which were most recently revised in 2025 in collaboration with the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR).

ReMa Guidelines for LDPE-A and LDPE-B

ReMA’s plastic film grades sit in the ISRI Specifications under “General Non-Source-Specific Categories,” alongside PE Color Film and PE Furniture Mix Film. The current Grade A and Grade B versions were approved by ReMA’s Plastics Division on April 8, 2025, adopted by the ReMA and APR boards, and announced jointly on July 31, 2025. The revised Grade A sheet lists an effective date of May 12, 2025.

Each spec follows the same structure, which is useful to know when you’re reading a buyer’s acceptance sheet:

• Description: the minimum share of clear or natural PE film in the bale.
• Source: for both grades, sorted film generated after its intended use at commercial establishments (think distribution centers, retail backrooms, and manufacturing plants).
• Total contamination: a cap on everything that isn’t the target film, by weight.
• Allowable contaminants at low levels: items tolerated up to a per-item limit.
• Contaminants not allowed: items that can get a load rejected outright.

LDPE Grade A: at least 95% clear, no more than 5% contamination

PE Clear Film (Grade A) is clear or natural LDPE and LLDPE film — stretch wrap, shrink wrap, and clear bags — making up at least 95% of the bale. Total contamination is capped at 5% by weight.

The tolerances are tight. Each of these individual contaminants should stay at or below 1% by weight:

• Clear or natural HDPE (#2) film
• Lightly labeled film (no more than 2–3 labels per piece) or lightly printed film (under 5% of the surface inked)
• Plastic strapping and rubber bands
• Cardboard endcaps
• Moisture (capped at 2%)

The defining feature of Grade A is what it excludes. Colored film is not allowed at all, and neither is heavily printed or heavily labeled film. Loose paper and OCC, any plastic foam, and any rigid plastic — including rigid PE — are also on the not-allowed list. In practice, Grade A is clean pallet stretch wrap and clear shrink wrap from a well-run back-of-house program.

LDPE Grade B: at least 80% clear, up to 20% color, no more than 10% contamination

PE Clear Film (Grade B) is still a clear-dominant grade, but it gives you room. At least 80% of the bale must be clear or natural PE film, and up to 20% by weight can be colored or printed PE film. Total contamination can reach 10% by weight, which is double the Grade A ceiling.

The per-item tolerance is 2% by weight, and the list of allowable items is broader:

• HDPE (#2) film — up to 10%, and it doesn’t have to be clear
• Lightly labeled or lightly printed film (same definitions as Grade A)
• Plastic strapping and rubber bands
• Rigid or foam PE (HDPE #2 or LDPE #4)
• Loose paper and OCC, including cardboard endcaps
• Moisture residues

Some things don’t change between grades. Heavily printed or labeled film, non-PE and metallized films, multi-material pouches, film that held hazardous materials, silicone-coated film, degradable-additive film, non-PE rigid plastics, non-PE foam, food waste, liquids, metal, batteries, and medical waste can all trigger rejection in either grade.

What Can Cause a Claim on LDPE-A

Most downgrades come from a handful of everyday problems:

• A few colored bags or tinted wraps. Grade A allows no colored film. Grade B absorbs up to 20%.
• Loose cardboard or paper. Not allowed in Grade A beyond endcaps; tolerated at low levels in Grade B.
• Rigid PE or PE foam mixed in at the baler. Excluded from A, tolerated in B.
• Colored HDPE film or more than about 1% clear HDPE film.
• Too much moisture. Grade A caps it at 2%, and wet bales also lose weight to moisture deductions.
• General contamination past 5% of bale weight.

Grade A vs. Grade B at a glance

Sources: ReMA spec sheets for Grade A, Grade B, and PE Color Film.

If you remember the older ISRI film lineup — Premium, A+, A, B, and C grades — note that the original ISRI film specs used similar 95% and 80% clear thresholds for A and B. The 2025 revision kept those thresholds but spelled out contaminant limits in much more detail, and mixed-color material now trades under PE Color Film rather than a “C” grade.

How to keep your film in Grade A

The gap between A and B is usually decided at the point of generation, not at the baler. A few habits make the difference:

1. Separate clear from colored at the source. Give stretch and shrink wrap its own clearly marked bin or gaylord, away from colored bags and printed packaging.
2. Pull labels and tape where you can. Two or three shipping labels per piece is tolerated; heavily labeled film is not.
3. Keep cardboard out. Endcaps are fine at low levels, but loose OCC belongs in your fiber stream, where it earns its own value.
4. Store film indoors and bale it dry. Grade A caps moisture at 2%, and wet bales get hit with deductions on top of a possible downgrade.
5. Keep rigids and foam out of the baler. Even PE rigids and PE foam knock a bale out of Grade A.
6. Never mix in film from chemical, pesticide, or other hazardous-product packaging. That’s a rejection risk in any grade.
7. Train the people who touch it. A one-page visual guide at the baler — what goes in, what doesn’t — prevents most downgrades.
8. Confirm your buyer’s spec. Many buyers publish their own acceptance list that’s tighter or looser than ReMA’s. The PO governs.