Plastics & Rubber

On the way to rethink plastics

Plastics bring many advantages, but especially their production and disposal also bring challenges. As a plastics manufacturer, we at BASF accept this responsibility and are working on different recycling solutions to give more plastics a new life. How we want to do that? Learn more about our solutions on this page – how we change the way we make, use and recycle plastics.

#Ourplasticsjourney has begun, now it is time for you to embark.

We at BASF want to explore new ways to make the lifecycle of plastics more sustainable: 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. We call this transformation #ourplasticsjourney.

But we cannot do it on our own. That is why we are working with partners along the value chain and Go!create solutions together. Together we can reach our goal of a cleaner tomorrow faster.

# RECYCLE

The importance of recycling: exploring the potentials of complementary recycling technologies

To accelerate #ourplasticjourney, we are working with partners along the value chain on a variety of projects with different maturity levels. We offer solutions that further improve mechanical recycling and aim to use new, innovative and complementary chemical recycling technologies on a large scale.

Find out how!

Discover how we bring #ourplasticsjourney across all three phases of the product lifecycle (Make, Use, Recycle) forward – from the use of alternative raw materials to various recycling solutions. Use the filters below to find your topics of interest.

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Go!Create collaborations

Alliance to End Plastic Waste: teaming up for sustainability

Plastic waste is a huge global concern that no single organisation can address alone. That is why BASF, together with 55 companies, co-founded the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) to reduce plastic waste and organize a global recycling movement.

Industries and products

Products

Medical Technology

BASF offers medical plastics for applications such as inhalers, insulin pens, drug delivery devices, surgical instruments.

Industries and products

Products

Electronics & Electric

Engineering plastics used in electrical applications (E/E) have to show excellent electrical performance, good mechanical properties as well as high dimensional stability under heat. In daily operation, they have to guarantee insulation and therefore secure handling. They have to reduce fire risk in the event of an electrical defect or exposure to external sources of ignition. With a lot of applications, the plastic is used for designing the exterior of components as well. This is why design requirements, e. g. for surface quality, haptics, and colors, are becoming more and more important.

Go!Create collaborations

World Plastics Council

BASF joined the World Plastics Council (WPC) in 2018, a global organization of key leaders in the plastics industry., uniting efforts to promote responsible use of plastics. The WPC promotes industry topics of global relevance like the responsible use of plastics, efficient waste management and solutions to marine littering.

Go!Create collaborations

Fighting plastic pollution

Global Partners for Circularity

BASF supports the Global Partners for Plastics Circularity is a multinational collaboration of associations and companies that make, use and recycle plastics. Find out more about its ambition to eliminate plastic pollution.

Go!Create partnerships

Alliance to end plastic waste

Use of recycled material

Life cycle assessment (LCA) for ChemCycling®

Chemical recycling complements mechanical recycling and can be a more sustainable solution than incineration or landfill of plastic waste. It thus contributes to a circular economy and the responsible use of resources. An LCA study conducted by Sphera for BASF concludes that chemical recycling (pyrolysis) of mixed plastic waste emits 50% less CO2 than incineration of mixed plastic waste.

Use of recycled material

The Mass Balance Approach

In its transition towards a circular economy, BASF is increasingly using recycled or renewable raw materials as alternatives to fossil resources at the beginning of its value chain. The alternative feedstocks are attributed to downstream products via the mass balance approach. While mass-balanced products keep all product properties unchanged compared to their conventional equivalents, they contribute to the substitution of fossil resources in BASF´s production process and may have a smaller product carbon footprint than their conventional equivalent.

Use of renewable material

Biomass balance approach

A groundbreaking way of using renewable resources in production

Use of recycled material

ChemCycling^®

In ChemCycling^®, BASF uses recycled feedstock derived from plastic waste for our broad Ccycled^® product portfolio. The recycled feedstock is attributed to the certified Ccycled^® products through a mass balance approach. BASF customers have successfully introduced Ccycled^® products in various industries like (food) packaging, medical, textile and automotive.

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.