flustix RECYCLED – a seal for genuine plastic recycling in products

Why we are launching flustix RECYCLED.

In Europe, so-called “energy recovery” or “thermal recycling” is the most widely used method of disposing of plastic waste, followed by landfill. But why do we burn this valuable raw material instead of reusing it? There is already more than enough plastic in circulation – but unfortunately not yet in the loop. flustix RECYCLED therefore aims to reduce the production of new plastic and to promote the use of secondary plastics in products. And it does so with a new consumer seal: flustix RECYCLED. On the basis of the certification programme, the journey from regranulate to finished product is traced in order to establish and certify the actual recyclate content of products with DIN-verified certainty.

If goods and products are to become more sustainable in the long term, recycled plastic has to be planned into product development from the very start.

“In many areas the use of plastics currently still has no alternative and is unavoidable. Saving valuable resources, energy and climate-damaging CO2 through recycling is the most sensible route to a future with less plastic – if it has to be plastic, then please not new plastic,” says flustix founder Malte Biss.

Products go through various phases in their development. In the planning phase the customer and the product’s context are to the fore, with questions such as: what does the customer want? What does the competition offer? What are the market requirements?
The sustainability of products matters more to customers today than ever, as the independent consumer survey by Kantar TNS has also shown. In the design phase, aesthetic, safety-related and manufacturing aspects are added. We at flustix see the environmental aspect as part of that! Sustainable product design is permeating the market – once you learn to recognise it.

But even the best product developers cannot avoid the material plastic entirely. In many areas plastics are indispensable, quite simply without alternative. For a sustainable use of plastics, the use of plastic recyclate is therefore key. Why keep producing new material when what already exists can be processed to as-new quality and reused?

To avoid producing plastic anew again and again, it has to be reused frequently.

Plastic is a valuable, indeed an ingenious, material! It can be adapted extremely easily to the functional and aesthetic requirements of every individual manufacturer. Fortunately, recycled plastics have today reached the same quality as primary material. The plastics processing industry already brings large volumes of recycled plastic to the market, strictly controlled and at an increasingly competitive price. Demand is rising, and reliable labelling builds consumer trust. The German Packaging Act, in force since the beginning of 2019, also promotes the use of recyclate and aims to create a financial incentive for it:

The Packaging Act contains four key changes intended to help the environment:

• Higher recycling quotas: instead of the previous 36 per cent, at least 58.5 per cent of all plastic packaging must now be recycled, rising to 63 per cent from 2022.

• Discounts for environmentally friendly packaging

• More deposits and reusable systems for certain drinks

• Greater control of waste streams through registration with the Central Agency

Unfortunately “virgin material”, meaning fresh plastic, is still cheaper than secondary plastics in most cases. To that extent genuine recycling naturally represents an investment. An investment that will pay off – and that deserves to be communicated.

With flustix RECYCLED, the use of plastic recyclate can be made visible to consumers for the first time: prominently and reliably.

So that manufacturers can make the use of recyclate in their products visible, we have created a certification with flustix RECYCLED that offers everyone independently verified clarity at a glance. Based on the strict audit standards of the German Institute for Standardisation, DIN CERTCO, and an international network of auditors, flustix can determine the share of plastic recyclate in a product anywhere in the world. What is more, the flustix RECYCLED trademark even highlights the exact percentage of recyclate used on the end product.

We at flustix are working towards a world in which product design and sustainability go hand in hand, in which plastic is made recyclable from the outset and used as sparingly as possible.