Plastics & Rubber

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.

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. 

Visual of the Make topic from #OurPlasticsJourney showing a factory hall
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
Visual of Use from #OurPlasticsJourney showing a car
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
Visual of Recycle from #OurPlasticsJourney showing a recycling process
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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Industries and products
# MAKE
Mass balanced products
No CO2 in your luggage: New bike backpack from VAUDE with innovative polyamide from BASF
The new TRAILCONTROL ZERO 20+ bike backpack from VAUDE, the leading manufacturer of sustainable outdoor clothing and equipment, sets new standards in collaboration with BASF. For the manufacturing of the backpack, VAUDE uses BASF's innovative Ultramid® ZeroPCF, a polyamide (PA) 6 with a Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) of zero.
# MAKE
# RECYCLE
# USE
#OurPlasticsJourney: BASF to showcase the sustainable future of plastics at K 2025
Ludwigshafen, Germany, 17 June 2025. As the world’s leading trade fair for plastics and rubber returns to Düsseldorf this October 8th to 15th, BASF is again on board – just as it has been since the very first K-Fair in 1952.
Industries and products
Mass balanced products
# USE
Room acoustics expert Bosig relies on Basotect® EcoBalanced
As the first Basotect® customer, the room acoustics expert Bosig, Germany is now switching its product range to Basotect® EcoBalanced. BASF's thermoset is the world's first high-quality melamine resin foam with a 50% lower Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) compared to Basotect® standard grades.
Emission reduction
Candid Conversation on Plastics  - What does it take to get to net zero emissions in production
Plastics and the chemical industry are still heavily dependent on fossil resources and emit too much COâ‚‚. Find out what solutions we are working on to counteract the problem and what strategy we are pursuing for net zero.
Fighting plastic pollution
Preventing plastic pellet loss
Floating plastic bottles in the ocean, bags and fishing nets in the middle of the sea – 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.
External studies
Plastics – the fast Facts 2024
The study shows 2023 preliminary global and European plastics production data. Italso provides 2023 European plastics industry’s key economic figures, trade balance and top trade partners.
External studies
Conversio Study 2023
This study provides a complete picture of plastic as a material by taking an overall view of the material flow pattern all relevant stages of the life cycle up to the reuse of the recyclates resulting from recycling and the reuse of by-products by origin and application. reuse of by-products by origin and application.
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
Plastics - The facts 2022
Plastics – the Facts is an analysis of the latest data related to plastics production, demand, conversion and end-of-life management in Europe. 
External studies
Circularity Report 2022
This 2022 edition report is a contribution towards a better understanding of the circular economy of plastics. It provides a European overview of plastics production, conversion into parts and products, consumption, waste collection and treatment, including recycling.

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:  

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.

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