BIA: New splendour follows old

A well-known Solingen-based manufacturer of high-quality, metallised plastic components for vehicles has been offering a take-back guarantee on its metallised plastic components since 2022. This is because the company fully recycles galvanised plastic components. The target is a lower limit of one third recyclate content in all products.

Since 2022, a well-known supplier has been offering a take-back guarantee on metallised plastic components for vehicles. It processes galvanised plastic components completely circularly. The new process offers the possibility of high-purity and therefore high-quality recovery of both recyclable fractions - plastic and metal. Post-industrial and post-consumer materials can be returned to the value chain. Completely new components can be produced from old galvanised plastic components, which cannot be distinguished from a component made from primary raw materials in terms of their optical and technical properties.

In the first step, the components to be recycled are shredded. If the grain size is small enough during shredding, the metal layers flake off the plastic, resulting in a metal fraction on the one hand and a plastic fraction on the other in the subsequent separation step. The plastic fraction is compounded. In addition to the recyclability of a product, it was important to the manufacturer that the recycling process itself was as resource-efficient and environmentally friendly as possible. In terms of the use of resources, mechanical recycling is more efficient. This is where the advantages of galvanised plastics come into play, as they ensure a corresponding purity of type and compatibility.