ELECTRONIC AND AUTOMOTIVE | INNOVATION
Manufacturers are becoming more confident about incorporating recycled plastics in electronic devices, appliances and car components.
David Eldridge surveys
groups talking about their secondary material needs
Appetite grows in OEMs for recycled materials
Brands and manufacturers in the consumer electronics, domestic appliances, IT and automo- tive markets are pursuing their sustainability programmes by using recycled plastics in their new products. Applications for plastics in these sectors can be very demanding in terms of material properties, including strength and stiffness, but major groups are starting to accept that recycled plastics do not equate to inferior performance. A look round new products and projects shows OEMs are gradually introducing recycled plastics and they are being supported in these tentative first steps by recyclers, materials groups, technol- ogy companies and R&D partners. Miele says it is increasingly relying on recyclates for its portfolio of domestic appliances and white goods. The group says it is implementing the principles of a circular economy by using recycled materials wherever this is possible without any reduction in quality levels. Its objective is to increase the volume of plastic recyclates it uses to 7,500 tonnes by 2025. “Miele is at the beginning of a long journey which is not just about using recycled and recycla- ble materials in packaging but also in finished goods,” says Christoph Wendker, Vice President Corporate Sustainability and Regulatory Affairs at Miele. In terms of WEEE metals, he says the use of
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recyclates is already far advanced at Miele, and it is adopting the same approach for plastics “with great conviction”. The group has developed a floor module used on almost all its new tumble dryer models which achieves material savings of 30% by using a foam moulding process. Since 2021, recycled plastics have been used in the lid of this module. At its Bielefeld production plant in Germany, Miele is increasingly manufacturing vacuum cleaner accessories such as upholstery brushes, crevice nozzles, dusting brushes and special-purpose attachments from recyclate. The option of switching to recyclates is currently being examined for other
Main image: Logitech said it has beaten its target to incorporate post-consumer recyclate in its Creativity and Productivity products
Left: The frame of the Miele Hygiene AirClean filter is made from 100% recyclate on the entry- line Boost CX1 model
July/August 2022 | PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD 41
IMAGE: LOGITECH
IMAGE: MIELE
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