Do as The LEGO Group – Develop recycling plastics products in Denmark
The Danish Plastics federation: plastics industry is highly innovative
The Danish Plastics Federation is a trade association for plastics converting companies. The Federation works to ensure Danish plastics companies the best framework conditions for success by equipping them for a future in which the green transition is a prerequisite for us to preserve our resources and create new attractive jobs.
Denmark is widely known for larger plastics companies such as LEGO and Coloplast. However, Denmark is also home to an extensive list of small- and medium-sized plastics companies and producers – equally as innovative. The majority are raw material suppliers and subcontractors with yearlong experience in serving a wide variety of customers in different markets around the globe. The industry counts around 27.000 Danish jobs and have an estimated annual turnover of around EUR 7 billion.
The LEGO Group reveals first prototype LEGO brick® Made from recycled plastics
The innovative industry is driven by a willingness to join forces to develop new solutions and work together across the value chain to increase the degree of recycling of plastics.
The newest example is the LEGO Group who has just revealed the first prototype of its classic brick element created from PET recycled plastics sourced from discarded bottles that meets the company's quality and safety requirements.
A team of more than 150 people is working together with sourcing partners to find sustainable solutions for LEGO products. Over the past three years, materials scientists and engineers tested over 250 variations of PET materials and hundreds of other plastics formulations.
Watch the Lego Group's reveal here
The industry is Working towards a greener plastics value chain
With more than 45 years of experience, Aage Vestergaard Larsen is the largest company in Scandinavia when it comes to reprocessing plastics waste. A position the company has achieved by pursuing the objective to be in a constant development and at the forefront of any new initiative.
Other major Danish recycling plastics manufacturers have also taken the responsibility to develop and produce green plastics. There is still a big potential to make better use of plastics by re-using and recycling – and the industry welcomes new partners to collaborate on new ideas and products.
Therefore, the Danish Plastics Federation has established a Recycling Section where Aage Vestergaard Larsen together with 9 other recycling manufacturers have joined forces to ensure better professional and commercial conditions for plastics recycling. The 10 members are behind over 90% of the Danish production recycled plastics in Denmark.
Another member is PLASTIX, who is proud to enable innovative front-runners, such as designers, plastics converters and brand owners to create high-end products made from green plastics. PLASTIX convert ocean plastics into recycled plastics using an innovative technology.
Today’s research looks into the possibilities to recycle dirty plastics but still a lot of plastics cannot be recycled. However, Norwegian Quantafuels have developed a method to convert plastic waste into synthetic fuels and today, Quantafuels is operating at industrial scale and building their first large commercial manufacturing plant in Esbjerg, Denmark.
See the Lego Group's journey from "plastic bottle to prototype brick" here
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