#Recycling / Circular Economy

2021-07-08

Covestro supports development of Chinese standards for recycled plastics

Covestro supported a consortium of recycling value chain partners in China in the recent development of national standards for recycled polycarbonate – a durable and versatile engineering plastic. © Covestro

Covestro, a leading global polymer manufacturer, is focusing on innovative recycling as one of the key levers to achieve a circular economy. China is one of the most important producing countries for plastics in the world and is taking various measures to promote domestic plastics recycling while banning or restricting single-use plastics. Working with a consortium of partners from the recycling value chain in China, Covestro contributed to the recent development of national standards for recycled polycarbonate, a highly durable and versatile engineering plastic with high recycled value.

Covestro a member of the drafting committee of China’s Guobiao (GB) standards on recycled polycarbonates

Unified quality specifications for recycled polycarbonates from post-consumer and post-industrial waste

For use from July 13, 2021, specifications on the quality and property requirements for recycled polycarbonates from post-consumer and post-industrial waste have been developed in the Guobiao (GB) standards. In addition, standards for testing methods, packaging, transportation and storage of these recycled materials will be introduced to ensure proper handling throughout the value chain.

"Creating uniform standards is essential to improve the polycarbonate recycling value chain while promoting the use of these recycled materials in downstream applications," said Kayla Wu, global program manager of mechanical recycling, Covestro's Engineering Plastics segment. "As a global leader in polycarbonate sustainability solutions, Covestro is proud to contribute our expertise to the development of the national standards while living up to our vision of full circularity."

Improving quality and traceability in recycling

To turn polycarbonate waste into high-quality recyclates, the materials need to go through many quality control steps and specifications and require close collaboration along the value chain. End-of-life polycarbonate products are first collected, sorted, shredded and cleaned before being reprocessed into pellets by recycling companies. Covestro then blends these recyclates with virgin polycarbonates to produce high-quality post-consumer recycled materials to be used again in new products like laptops, copiers, printers and other electronic devices.

In its collaboration with Chinese beverage producer Nongfu Spring and recycling company Ausell, Covestro has gone one step further in closing the material loop with new business models. Through this collaboration, the companies have further optimized the recycling efficiency of Nongfu Spring's 19-liter polycarbonate barrels and improved the traceability and quality of recycled materials. Building on this success, Covestro plans to further look into other waste streams such as e-waste to help the electrical and electronics industry build a circular economy.

"Improving the quality and standardization of recycled plastics is key to the transition to a Circular Economy. The Chinese GB standards for polycarbonate recyclates will create even more transparency regarding the quality of recycled polycarbonates, thus boosting market demand," says Daner Xue, product technology expert of Covestro's Engineering Plastics segment.

Covestro and Heraeus Precious Metals collaborate to enable safer, more sustainable antimicrobial textile coatings

Laboratory tests reveal that AGXX antimicrobial surface technology from Heraeus Precious Metals is fully compatible with Impranil® PU dispersions which are part of the waterborne INSQIN® textile coating technology from Covestro, paving the way for more sustainable antimicrobial textile coatings. This discovery comes at a key moment for the textile coatings industry. As the sharing economy continues to grow, more people are coming into regular contact with high-use surfaces, creating ideal conditions for bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms to thrive.

Covestro celebrates decade of innovation and sustainable growth

Covestro celebrates its 10-year anniversary today. Since its carve-out from Bayer in 2015, the company has developed into a global leader in high-performance polymer materials and a pioneer in circular economy solutions. With a strong focus on innovation and sustainability, Covestro’s materials are now embedded in countless applications worldwide – from mobility and construction to electronics, healthcare, and consumer goods.

Suiting up Team Sonnenwagen with more sustainable sportswear created through a three-way partnership

Team Sonnenwagen Aachen, a solar racing collective from RWTH Aachen and FH Aachen, Germany, is on a mission to advance sustainable mobility solutions and become world champions. This August, the student team will participate in the 2025 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, a biannual 3,000-kilometer race across the Australian outback. During the five-day event, 50 student teams from around the world will compete with solar vehicles that they must design, assemble, and drive themselves.

How innovations drive BASF’s success

“Innovation has always been part of BASF’s DNA. Especially in these volatile times, it is crucial to leverage our innovative strength to develop competitive solutions that differentiate us as a company in our markets and give us a competitive edge,” said Dr. Stephan Kothrade, Member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF and Chief Technology Officer, at the company’s Research Press Briefing held today. To achieve this, BASF implemented its “Winning Ways” strategy about a year ago with the clear goal of becoming the preferred chemical company to enable its customers’ green transformation.

38th International Cotton Conference Bremen: Let´s Talk about Cotton!

The 38th International Cotton Conference Bremen, to be held on 25-27 March 2026 in Bremen’s parliament building on market square, once again sends a powerful signal for professional excellence and international dialogue. The focus is on the latest market trends and technical innovations throughout the entire value chain – from agriculture and quality assurance to processing and the circular economy. With its high-calibre speakers, the conference remains an indispensable forum for anyone involved in shaping the cotton industry scientifically, technically, or economically.

More safety and comfort for protective clothing thanks to auxetic fabrics

When everyday materials are pulled, they stretch or elongate in the direction of the pull and become narrower in cross-section. We can also observe this property in two-dimensional textiles. Auxetic structures behave differently here. They have the striking property of not changing under tensile stress or even increasing their width or thickness. These properties are advantageous, for example, in protective textiles or textile filter media. The DITF are researching auxetic fabrics for various applications.

SHIMA SEIKI returns to ShanghaiTex

Leading flat knitting solutions provider SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD. of Wakayama, Japan, together with its Hong Kong and Chinese market subsidiary SHIMA SEIKI (HONG KONG) LTD., will exhibit at the ShanghaiTex 2025 exhibition (Booth No.: Hall N3, Booth A20) held in Shanghai, China this month. This marks the return of SHIMA SEIKI to ShanghaiTex after a 14-year hiatus, its last exhibit at the show having been in 2011.