Plastic is fantastic – when used with care

Many products in today’s society place high demands on the properties of the material being used. This applies in particular to food packaging and technical medical equipment. Polymers offer benefits compared to other materials, for example in relation to weight and chemical resistance.

From a sustainability perspective, plastic has long had a somewhat tarnished reputation. Thanks to a shift in focus from the material itself to the actual problem, i.e. what we do with the plastic product when it is no longer being used, attitudes have changed in recent years.

Many of the products manufactured by the Group’s companies place high and very specific demands on the functionality of the material. Properties such as low weight, durability, insulating capacity and chemical resistance are just a few examples. There are currently no alternatives that can fully match the function of fossil-based polymer materials, and in many cases the properties of plastic mean that it delivers environmental benefits compared to other materials. 

In order for the actual manufacture of plastic products to be as sustainable as possible, while at the same time satisfying quality requirements, the Group’s companies are focusing their efforts on the optimisation of processes for reduced material consumption and higher energy efficiency, production using recyclable materials and a higher degree of recycling. Material consumption is reduced by using a specific processing method for the production of lightweight products. This method also provides benefits such as higher sound absorption capacity and better heat insulation for the products. The process is conducted without the use of additives, which means that the products are also 100 per cent recyclable. 

There is considerable demand from customers for production using recycled materials, yet still a lack of players that can perform recycling to the required level of quality. Within the Industrial Products business unit, an operation is being conducted alongside industry colleagues to develop sustainable solutions for the recycling and reuse of plastic materials. Through this operation, the parties are gaining control over the entire value chain and are able to reduce the environmental impact through greater resource efficiency and reduced extraction of raw materials.

THE VALUE OF PLASTIC RECYCLING

When we use 1 kg of virgin polyethylene (PE) in the manufacture of plastic products, almost 2 kg of carbon dioxide emissions are generated. If we recycle the material and use it again, the amount of emissions is reduced by roughly half. 

By using smart production methods, the amount of material can be reduced and energy efficiency can be raised. If the products are also designed in a way that makes them easy to gather in, sort and recycle, the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions can be further minimised.