Know your plastic before you run it
Affordable material testing for manufacturers, molders and recyclers. Melt flow, moisture, density, tensile, flexural, impact and ash testing at our plastic testing laboratory in Richmond, British Columbia.
Bundled testing packages
Precise numbers on how your plastic will process and perform, from a lab that works with recycled material every day.
The Ocean Legacy Plastic Testing Laboratory analyzes recycled, virgin and compounded plastics at our facility in Richmond, British Columbia. We measure melt flow, moisture, solid density, tensile, flexural and impact strength, and ash content, then give you a clear report you can act on.
We built this lab to characterize some of the most demanding feedstock there is: rope, nets and gear recovered from the Pacific. Your resin is in good hands.
If you make plastic products, containers or parts and want to use more recycled content, these are the unknowns that stop a trial. Each one has a test.
Melt flow analysis gives you the melt flow rate, melt volume rate and melt density that guide your processing parameters and compounding ratios.
Moisture analysis gives you a moisture percentage, so you can dry to spec and avoid material degradation before it costs you a production run.
The Process Stability Bundle checks melt flow, moisture and density together. It is the fastest way to identify batch variability.
The Mechanical Benchmark Suite runs tensile, flexural and impact testing to benchmark your material against its specification.
Solid density and ash testing characterize composition and consistency, and help flag fillers, contamination and mixed polymers.
The Complete Polymer Passport is a full material profile. We work with customers to build their plastic technical data sheets.
Seven tests, available one at a time or bundled. Each has a brochure you can download and share with your team.
How easily a polymer flows at a set temperature and load, measured by extruding the sample through a heated capillary die. Processors use it to set extruder and molding parameters, tune compounding ratios, run quality control and detect polymer degradation.
How much moisture your material is carrying, measured by heating a specimen and tracking its weight loss. Moisture causes processing variability and material degradation, and it is a core quality assurance number for you and your customers.
The specific gravity and solid density of a polymer, found by weighing it in air and in water. A fundamental property for characterizing material quality, composition and consistency.
The stiffness and strength of a molded sample when it is pulled at a defined rate. Product developers and designers use these values to decide whether a material suits the part.
The stiffness and strength of a molded sample when it is bent under load across a defined span. Essential for panels, molded parts and profiles, construction and structural plastic products, and infrastructure components.
The toughness and failure behaviour of a polymer under a sudden blow. A molded sample is secured in a fixture and struck with a pendulum, as either a notched Izod or a Charpy test.
The inorganic residue left once the polymer is burned away. It indicates how much filler, reinforcement or contamination is in a recycled or compounded material.
Shrinkage testing for plastic film is in development. Tell us what you need and we will let you know when it is available.
Coming soonTell us about your material and what you are trying to solve. We will recommend a test plan, and sample preparation and result interpretation are available as add-on services.
Ask the labThree packages built around the decisions manufacturers make most often.
Your full, go-to material profile. Use it to qualify a new resin or supplier, or as the foundation of a technical data sheet.
The fastest way to identify batch variability, for reliable quality control on incoming and outgoing lots.
Melt flow index + moisture analysis + solid density
Prove performance with confidence. Benchmark strength, stiffness and toughness for your material specifications.
Tensile + flexural + impact analysis
Every test and bundle is available as an individual request, or as daily and monthly bundled units for ongoing production. Tell us your volume and we will quote the most economical option.
Our process consultation service turns lab data into better production outcomes.
We provide technical support to troubleshoot material and processing issues, especially in recycling environments. We work with you to optimize material performance, improve processing conditions and resolve manufacturing challenges across a range of plastic applications.
“With the growing circular economy and the push for molders to increase their recycled plastic content, a reliable and accessible plastic testing laboratory is critical for success.”
Our own facility produced 167,702 kg of recycled pellet, regrind and crumble in 2025. We read results the way a production team does.
Dedicated instruments for melt flow, moisture, density, ash and mechanical testing, run by experienced scientists and technicians.
You get compiled results in a final report, with interpretation available when you want a second set of eyes on the data.
We are a non-profit, and the lab was made possible with support from the Province of British Columbia through the CleanBC Plastics Action Fund.
The lab expansion was covered by Plastics News, Recycling Product News and Waste & Recycling.
From ghost gear to a resin with a spec sheet.
Legacy Plastic is our recycled resin made from recovered ocean, shoreline and marine plastic, including rope, fishing net and oyster baskets. Few feedstocks are harder to characterize, and this lab supports its quality standards.
From feedstock to finished product
Tell us about your material and what you need to learn. The lab team will reply with a recommended test plan and pricing.
The lab tests recycled, virgin and compounded plastics for seven properties: melt flow, moisture content, solid density, tensile strength, flexural strength, impact strength and ash content. Tests can be ordered individually or as one of three bundled packages.
The lab serves manufacturers, molders, recyclers, compounders, product designers and independent makers across the Pacific Northwest and beyond. It is designed for anyone who needs reliable property data to use plastic, and especially recycled plastic, in their products.
We test recycled, virgin and compounded plastics across a range of polymer types. Melt flow and moisture testing can be run on pellet, regrind or ground material, and fibre. Tensile, flexural and impact tests are run on molded samples. Sample preparation is available if your material is not test-ready.
Melt flow rate (MFR) is the mass of molten polymer that flows through a standard die in ten minutes at a set temperature and load, reported in g/10 min. It tells a processor how easily a material will flow, which guides extruder and molding parameters, compounding ratios and the best use for a recycled material. A shift in melt flow between lots can also signal polymer degradation.
Excess moisture causes processing variability and can degrade the material during melt processing. A moisture analysis gives you a moisture percentage, so you can confirm your drying is working and document quality for your own records and for your customers.
The Complete Polymer Passport is a full material profile made up of all seven tests: melt flow index, moisture analysis, solid density, tensile, flexural, impact and ash testing. It is the package to choose when you are qualifying a new resin or building a technical data sheet.
Melt flow analysis is performed in accordance with ASTM D1238, and we conduct moisture analysis to ASTM D6980. Contact the lab for the method details of any other test, or to discuss a specific standard your customer requires.
Pricing depends on the tests you need and how often you need them. Every test and bundle can be ordered as an individual request, or as daily and monthly bundled units for ongoing quality control. Request a quote and we will recommend the most economical option for your volume.
Yes. The lab works with customers to build plastic technical data sheets, perform quality control testing and troubleshoot processing problems. The Complete Polymer Passport is the usual starting point for a data sheet.
No. The lab tests recycled, virgin and compounded plastics from any source. Our experience with recovered marine plastic simply means we are comfortable with variable, hard-to-characterize material.
The lab is inside the Ocean Legacy facility at 61-3300 Chatham Street in Richmond, British Columbia, in the Steveston neighbourhood. Samples can be shipped or dropped off. Visits are by appointment, so please call (604) 214-3591 or email first.
Legacy Plastic is Ocean Legacy's recycled resin made from recovered ocean, shoreline and marine plastic. The Plastic Testing Laboratory supports quality standards for Legacy Plastic, and the same testing services are open to outside manufacturers and recyclers.
Have a wider question about Ocean Legacy? Read the Ocean Legacy FAQ or contact the team.
The Plastic Testing Laboratory is part of Ocean Legacy's plastic recycling facility in Steveston, at the mouth of the Fraser River just south of Vancouver.
Ocean Legacy Plastic Testing LaboratorySample drop-off is by appointment.
Know your plastic before you run it
Affordable material testing for manufacturers, molders and recyclers. Melt flow, moisture, density, tensile, flexural, impact and ash testing at our plastic testing laboratory in Richmond, British Columbia.
Bundled testing packages
Precise numbers on how your plastic will process and perform, from a lab that works with recycled material every day.
The Ocean Legacy Plastic Testing Laboratory analyzes recycled, virgin and compounded plastics at our facility in Richmond, British Columbia. We measure melt flow, moisture, solid density, tensile, flexural and impact strength, and ash content, then give you a clear report you can act on.
We built this lab to characterize some of the most demanding feedstock there is: rope, nets and gear recovered from the Pacific. Your resin is in good hands.
If you make plastic products, containers or parts and want to use more recycled content, these are the unknowns that stop a trial. Each one has a test.
Melt flow analysis gives you the melt flow rate, melt volume rate and melt density that guide your processing parameters and compounding ratios.
Moisture analysis gives you a moisture percentage, so you can dry to spec and avoid material degradation before it costs you a production run.
The Process Stability Bundle checks melt flow, moisture and density together. It is the fastest way to identify batch variability.
The Mechanical Benchmark Suite runs tensile, flexural and impact testing to benchmark your material against its specification.
Solid density and ash testing characterize composition and consistency, and help flag fillers, contamination and mixed polymers.
The Complete Polymer Passport is a full material profile. We work with customers to build their plastic technical data sheets.
Seven tests, available one at a time or bundled. Each has a brochure you can download and share with your team.
How easily a polymer flows at a set temperature and load, measured by extruding the sample through a heated capillary die. Processors use it to set extruder and molding parameters, tune compounding ratios, run quality control and detect polymer degradation.
How much moisture your material is carrying, measured by heating a specimen and tracking its weight loss. Moisture causes processing variability and material degradation, and it is a core quality assurance number for you and your customers.
The specific gravity and solid density of a polymer, found by weighing it in air and in water. A fundamental property for characterizing material quality, composition and consistency.
The stiffness and strength of a molded sample when it is pulled at a defined rate. Product developers and designers use these values to decide whether a material suits the part.
The stiffness and strength of a molded sample when it is bent under load across a defined span. Essential for panels, molded parts and profiles, construction and structural plastic products, and infrastructure components.
The toughness and failure behaviour of a polymer under a sudden blow. A molded sample is secured in a fixture and struck with a pendulum, as either a notched Izod or a Charpy test.
The inorganic residue left once the polymer is burned away. It indicates how much filler, reinforcement or contamination is in a recycled or compounded material.
Shrinkage testing for plastic film is in development. Tell us what you need and we will let you know when it is available.
Coming soonTell us about your material and what you are trying to solve. We will recommend a test plan, and sample preparation and result interpretation are available as add-on services.
Ask the labThree packages built around the decisions manufacturers make most often.
Your full, go-to material profile. Use it to qualify a new resin or supplier, or as the foundation of a technical data sheet.
The fastest way to identify batch variability, for reliable quality control on incoming and outgoing lots.
Melt flow index + moisture analysis + solid density
Prove performance with confidence. Benchmark strength, stiffness and toughness for your material specifications.
Tensile + flexural + impact analysis
Every test and bundle is available as an individual request, or as daily and monthly bundled units for ongoing production. Tell us your volume and we will quote the most economical option.
Our process consultation service turns lab data into better production outcomes.
We provide technical support to troubleshoot material and processing issues, especially in recycling environments. We work with you to optimize material performance, improve processing conditions and resolve manufacturing challenges across a range of plastic applications.
“With the growing circular economy and the push for molders to increase their recycled plastic content, a reliable and accessible plastic testing laboratory is critical for success.”
Our own facility produced 167,702 kg of recycled pellet, regrind and crumble in 2025. We read results the way a production team does.
Dedicated instruments for melt flow, moisture, density, ash and mechanical testing, run by experienced scientists and technicians.
You get compiled results in a final report, with interpretation available when you want a second set of eyes on the data.
We are a non-profit, and the lab was made possible with support from the Province of British Columbia through the CleanBC Plastics Action Fund.
The lab expansion was covered by Plastics News, Recycling Product News and Waste & Recycling.
From ghost gear to a resin with a spec sheet.
Legacy Plastic is our recycled resin made from recovered ocean, shoreline and marine plastic, including rope, fishing net and oyster baskets. Few feedstocks are harder to characterize, and this lab supports its quality standards.
From feedstock to finished product
Tell us about your material and what you need to learn. The lab team will reply with a recommended test plan and pricing.
The lab tests recycled, virgin and compounded plastics for seven properties: melt flow, moisture content, solid density, tensile strength, flexural strength, impact strength and ash content. Tests can be ordered individually or as one of three bundled packages.
The lab serves manufacturers, molders, recyclers, compounders, product designers and independent makers across the Pacific Northwest and beyond. It is designed for anyone who needs reliable property data to use plastic, and especially recycled plastic, in their products.
We test recycled, virgin and compounded plastics across a range of polymer types. Melt flow and moisture testing can be run on pellet, regrind or ground material, and fibre. Tensile, flexural and impact tests are run on molded samples. Sample preparation is available if your material is not test-ready.
Melt flow rate (MFR) is the mass of molten polymer that flows through a standard die in ten minutes at a set temperature and load, reported in g/10 min. It tells a processor how easily a material will flow, which guides extruder and molding parameters, compounding ratios and the best use for a recycled material. A shift in melt flow between lots can also signal polymer degradation.
Excess moisture causes processing variability and can degrade the material during melt processing. A moisture analysis gives you a moisture percentage, so you can confirm your drying is working and document quality for your own records and for your customers.
The Complete Polymer Passport is a full material profile made up of all seven tests: melt flow index, moisture analysis, solid density, tensile, flexural, impact and ash testing. It is the package to choose when you are qualifying a new resin or building a technical data sheet.
Melt flow analysis is performed in accordance with ASTM D1238, and we conduct moisture analysis to ASTM D6980. Contact the lab for the method details of any other test, or to discuss a specific standard your customer requires.
Pricing depends on the tests you need and how often you need them. Every test and bundle can be ordered as an individual request, or as daily and monthly bundled units for ongoing quality control. Request a quote and we will recommend the most economical option for your volume.
Yes. The lab works with customers to build plastic technical data sheets, perform quality control testing and troubleshoot processing problems. The Complete Polymer Passport is the usual starting point for a data sheet.
No. The lab tests recycled, virgin and compounded plastics from any source. Our experience with recovered marine plastic simply means we are comfortable with variable, hard-to-characterize material.
The lab is inside the Ocean Legacy facility at 61-3300 Chatham Street in Richmond, British Columbia, in the Steveston neighbourhood. Samples can be shipped or dropped off. Visits are by appointment, so please call (604) 214-3591 or email first.
Legacy Plastic is Ocean Legacy's recycled resin made from recovered ocean, shoreline and marine plastic. The Plastic Testing Laboratory supports quality standards for Legacy Plastic, and the same testing services are open to outside manufacturers and recyclers.
The Plastic Testing Laboratory is part of Ocean Legacy's plastic recycling facility in Steveston, at the mouth of the Fraser River just south of Vancouver.
Ocean Legacy Plastic Testing LaboratorySample drop-off is by appointment.
Need some guidance?
Our process consultation service provides technical support to help troubleshoot material or processing issues in a recycling environment, and to use laboratory data to improve production outcomes.
We work with clients to optimize material performance, improve processing conditions, and resolve manufacturing challenges across a range of plastic applications.