How good is recycled plastic, really?

It is a question we get asked regularly: is recycled plastic just as good as new material? The honest answer is increasingly yes, but not always. In this blog, we explain where the differences lie, how far the technology has come and where the limits are.

From roadside posts to dashboards

A few years ago, recycled plastic was mainly used for simple applications such as roadside marker posts, picnic tables and plant pots. The requirements for those products were limited, and the material often had a recognizable, somewhat messy appearance. Customers who used recycled material preferred not to talk about it.

That picture is no longer accurate. Sorting processes have improved considerably, and recyclers and compounders are able to bring material to specification more and more precisely. Today, it is used to make dashboards, vacuum cleaner housings and electronics enclosures. There are even recycled plastics available with certifications, such as for flame retardancy.

The difference is often no longer visible

For many products, the difference between recycled and virgin material can no longer be seen or felt. This goes so far that some brands deliberately ask for a visible speckle in the product. Without that feature, consumers would no longer be able to tell that the product is made from recycled material. It is hard to imagine a better compliment for recycling technology.

Why it is not always a one-to-one replacement

Even so, recycled plastic is not automatically equal to new material. Several factors determine how close it comes.

Origin of the material

Production scrap from a single known material is relatively easy to upgrade. The composition is known and the material is clean. Plastic from household waste, such as packaging collected at recycling centers or curbside, requires many more steps.

That material first has to be sorted, washed and filtered before it can serve as a replacement for virgin material.

Thermal stress

Each time plastic is remelted, it can lose some of its properties. That is why recycled material is always tested and, where needed, supplemented with stabilizers and additives so that it meets the required specifications again.

Type of plastic

Not every plastic is equally easy to recycle.

• Polyolefins such as PP and PE are relatively easy to recycle and are reused on a large scale.
• Engineering plastics are more challenging. The recycling process itself is not necessarily more difficult, but the requirements for the end product are much higher. A drinking cup demands something very different from a part under the hood.

Color and consistency

For visible parts, the color must stay the same from batch to batch. Consumers will not accept the same vacuum cleaner on the store shelf in four slightly different shades. This also requires extra attention with recycled material. That said, more and more clients are willing to make some concessions here, precisely because they consciously choose recycled material.

Where the limit lies

There are applications where caution is wise, even if it would be technically possible.

Safety-critical parts

For parts on which people's safety depends, such as an airbag housing or a carabiner, the risks are too great to opt for recycled material without extensive testing. If a vacuum cleaner stops working, that is annoying. With a safety product, the consequences of a failure are of a completely different order.

Contact with food and drinking water

Strict rules apply to products that come into contact with food or drinking water, including rules on the migration of substances from the material. Recycled material is often not permitted here, or only after extensive testing and approval.

Asking the right question

So the question is not so much whether recycled plastic is as good as new. The question is whether it is good enough for this specific application. For a large share of products, the answer is now yes.

One thing remains important: a product that lasts a long time is ultimately more sustainable than a product made from 100% recycled material that needs to be replaced quickly. That is why at Fleur Plastics we always look at the combination of material, application and service life.

Not sure whether recycled plastic is suitable for your product? We are happy to think along with you.