How do you calculate a recycled content compliance gap risk score?

Multiply the three sub-scores: severity x occurrence x detection. With a severity of 6, occurrence of 4, and detection of 3, the risk score is roughly 4.6 on this tool's normalized scale — driven by the 6x4x3 = 72 raw product.

What is a good recycled content compliance gap score?

Lower is better. There is no universal pass line, but most packaging teams set a threshold (often the top 10-20% of scored gaps) above which corrective action is mandatory. A gap scoring near the top of your range needs action before the next EPR reporting cycle.

What does the detection score mean for recycled content?

Detection rates how likely your controls are to catch a shortfall before a regulator or auditor does. Low detection (few resin certificates, no mass-balance checks) earns a high score because the gap could slip through undetected.

Why use FMEA-style scoring for EPR compliance instead of just percent recycled?

Percent recycled tells you the current state; the RPN tells you which gaps to fix first. A SKU 2 points under target with weak documentation can outrank one 5 points under target with airtight certificates, because the risk of an undetected, penalized shortfall is higher.

Recycled content gap score vs mass-balance audit — which comes first?

Use the gap score to triage where to spend audit effort. The score points you at the highest-risk SKUs; the mass-balance audit then verifies actual recycled content on those specific priorities.

How often should I rescore recycled content compliance gaps?

Rescore whenever a resin supplier, formulation, or regulation changes, and at minimum each EPR reporting cycle. Occurrence and detection scores drift as suppliers and controls change.

Sustainable Packaging & EPR Compliance calculator

Recycled Content Compliance Gap Calculator

The Recycled Content Compliance Gap score is an FMEA-style risk priority number that packaging and sustainability teams use to rank the danger of missing mandated recycled-content thresholds under EPR and plastics-tax rules. It multiplies how bad a shortfall would be (severity), how likely you are to fall short (occurrence), and how poorly you'd catch it before an audit (detection). Compliance managers use it to triage which SKUs, resins, or suppliers get corrective action first when budgets are finite. Because a single missed threshold can trigger fees, market-access bans, or greenwashing penalties, ranking gaps consistently beats treating every risk equally.

What this calculator does

Estimate recycled content compliance gap for sustainable packaging and epr compliance using production-ready inputs so teams can rank risks and decide which issue needs containment, controls, or escalation first.
Use it when recycled content compliance gap in sustainable packaging and epr compliance needs a defensible ranking against other sustainable packaging and epr compliance risks for the next review.
It computes a single risk priority number by multiplying the severity, occurrence, and detection scores you assign to a recycled-content compliance gap.

Formula used

Recycled content compliance gap risk score = recycled content compliance gap severity score × recycled content compliance gap occurrence score × recycled content compliance gap detection score
Use the same scoring scale across comparable recycled content compliance gap risks.

Inputs explained

Compliance gap severity (harm if under-target):
Compliance gap occurrence (likelihood of falling short):
Compliance gap detection (ability to catch it pre-audit):

How to use the result

Use it when you have several potential recycled-content shortfalls across products or suppliers and need an objective, comparable way to decide which to fix first.
The number is only as good as your scoring discipline — inconsistent 1-10 scales between raters or SKUs make the RPNs uncomparable and can hide a high-severity, low-frequency gap.

Current U.S. benchmarks

The producer price index for plastic resins and materials stands at 319.371 (BLS, May 2026), up 19.5% from a year earlier. Quotes priced off last quarter's material cost miss this move.
The producer price index for paperboard and containers stands at 276.831 (BLS, May 2026), up 8.8% from a year earlier. Quotes priced off last quarter's material cost miss this move.

Common questions

How do you calculate a recycled content compliance gap risk score? Multiply the three sub-scores: severity x occurrence x detection. With a severity of 6, occurrence of 4, and detection of 3, the risk score is roughly 4.6 on this tool's normalized scale — driven by the 6x4x3 = 72 raw product.
What is a good recycled content compliance gap score? Lower is better. There is no universal pass line, but most packaging teams set a threshold (often the top 10-20% of scored gaps) above which corrective action is mandatory. A gap scoring near the top of your range needs action before the next EPR reporting cycle.
What does the detection score mean for recycled content? Detection rates how likely your controls are to catch a shortfall before a regulator or auditor does. Low detection (few resin certificates, no mass-balance checks) earns a high score because the gap could slip through undetected.
Why use FMEA-style scoring for EPR compliance instead of just percent recycled? Percent recycled tells you the current state; the RPN tells you which gaps to fix first. A SKU 2 points under target with weak documentation can outrank one 5 points under target with airtight certificates, because the risk of an undetected, penalized shortfall is higher.
Recycled content gap score vs mass-balance audit — which comes first? Use the gap score to triage where to spend audit effort. The score points you at the highest-risk SKUs; the mass-balance audit then verifies actual recycled content on those specific priorities.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.