Plastics & Rubber

On the way to rethink plastics

It’s easy to forget the good that plastic does for us every day. It keeps our food fresh. It keeps our homes warm. It even keeps us safer as we drive. And, as the BASF portfolio of plastics continues to evolve, we believe more than ever that plastics can continue to play a positive role in our lives by rethinking the way we MAKE, USE and RECYCLE them.

BASF goes K2025: a visual of BASF booth with visitors at K fair

We invite you to be part of our exciting journey towards the world's largest trade fair for plastics and rubber. Join us and experience our progress at first hand.

Join #OurPlasticsJourney at K2025

Some call it a transformation, we call it #OurPlasticsJourney.

Plastics prodcution still depends on fossil ressorces, and too much plastic waste still ends up in the environment. However, working alongside our customers and partners, we are taking on the challenge and do our part in co-creating solutions that reinvent the entire lifecycle of plastics together - from how we can produce plastics more resource-efficiently, to how we can use them better, to how we can give them a new life.

All BASF's European production sites for engineering plastics, polystyrene, expandable polystyrene, polyurethane, thermoplastics polyurethanes, polyamides and specialty polymers are now certified by independent third parties according to the Operation Clean Sweep ® (OCS) standard. In total, 16 production plants for plastic pellets were certified at six BASF production sites in Europe.

The journey to net zero by 2050 is full of challenges and we constantly look for solutions to overcome them. Learn how we change the way we produce plastics more resource-efficiently.

Find out how

In the USE phase of their lifecycle, plastics play out all their strengths. We innovate with our customers to enhance the sustainability contribution of our products.

Find out how

Together with partners we work on a variety of recycling projects with different maturity levels - from mechanical recycling to complementary chemical recycling.

Find out how

Discover how we are driving #OurPlasticsJourney across all three phases of the product lifecycle (Make, Use, Recycle) forward – from the use of alternative raw materials in production to improving our plastics in the use phase, to various recycling solutions. Use the filters below to find your topics of interest.

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# RECYCLE

RECYCLE - Unlocking potential through complementary recycling technologies

External studies

Plastics – the fast Facts 2023

Plastics – the fast Facts shows preliminary global and European plastics production data. It also provides European plastics industry’s key economic figures, trade balance, top trade partners, and preliminary estimations of European plastics conversion.

External studies

ReShaping Plastics: Pathways to a Circular, Climate Neutral Plastics System in Europe

External studies

Conversio Study 2023

Material flow diagram for plastics in Germany in 2023 Facts and figures on the life cycle of plastics.

External studies

The Circular Economy for Plastics – A European Overview 2022

Plastics Europe publishes the second edition of the “The Circular Economy for Plastics – A European Overview” report.

External studies

Plastics – the fast Facts 2024

The 2024 report "Plastics – the Fast Facts" provides preliminary data on global and European plastics production for 2023, along with key economic figures for the European plastics industry.

Mechanical Recycling

Sorting

trinamiX makes plastic sorting easy for efficient recycling

To recycle effectively, you need to be able to sort materials accurately. This is where trinamiX portable devices come in. Discover how they enable spectroscopic scans of plastics within seconds to categorize materials as preparation for efficient recycling.

Fighting plastic pollution

Preventing plastic pellet loss

Floating plastic bottles in the ocean, bags and fishing nets in the middle of the sea or carelessly disposed plastic products on the streets – almost everyone has seen the pictures. But pellets from plastic production also find their way into the environment. As partner of an initiative against pellet loss, BASF contributes to prevent this development.

# USE

USE - Plastics and its vast contributions to sustainability

The journey to achieve net zero by 2050 is full of challenges and we constantly look for solutions to overcome them. Learn more about examples where plastics can make a surprising contribution to reduce emissions.

# MAKE

MAKE - Targeting zero emissions by changing the way we make plastics

Fossil resources are limited. That's why we need to rethink the production, use and recycling of plastics. Find out more about how we at BASF are working on new ways to make the production of plastics more sustainable.

You wonder what our new solutions and approaches look like in practice? Then discover our wide range of products and the different industries in which we are active:

EPS by BASF

The re-invention of EPS - Since the invention of Styropor^® more than 70 years ago, our experts at BASF have succeeded in improving expandable polystyrene (EPS). The further development Neopor^® is established in the construction industry and insulation materials made of it make an important contribution to reducing CO₂emissions. With alternative manufacturing methods, we are reinventing EPS and offering solutions for a sustainable future.

How to get involved?

The challenges are huge. Join us on #ourplasticsjourney and leave us a message below. Together, we can reach our goal faster.

So, let's join forces and Go!Create together.