Independent certificates strengthen quality assurance for recyclates in the automotive industry

What about the use of recyclates in automotive construction? The trade magazine PLASTVERARBEITER asked industry experts about this – and gives an overview of the areas in which recyclates are already increasingly used.

27 components of the Audi Q4 E-Tron are made from industrial production waste

Not only the drive system, but all other parts need to become more sustainable. The magazine cites an example from Audi: In the electric Q4, there are 27 components that are proportionally made of recyclates from industrial production waste or old material (post-industrial recyclates, or PIR). Volkswagen states, according to PLASTVERARBEITER, about a third of the vehicle parts (based on weight) would consist of metallic and plastic recyclates – without independent evidence.

What impact the shares have, the manufacturers leave open. Malte Biss, founder and CEO of flustix, explains what must happen so that in the future cars with much higher recyclate proportions drive over our roads.

Collection of recyclables must be accurate

Biss told PLASTVERBEITER, “We need to sharpen and clearly structure the automotive recycling value chain. The most effective way is to reuse recyclates in the parts of the vehicle where they were also obtained. Accordingly, the collection of recyclables must be accurate. Each part has its value, after all, there is hardly anything that we can not use again – provided it is sorted by type.”

flustix: Independent investigation contributes to quality assurance

Biss continued, “The recycling methods themselves are getting better and better, but we still have to improve when it comes to sorting. If the plastics are not separated cleanly, the quality suffers. We also see our work as quality assurance. In the tests carried out by our independent partner DIN CERTCO (TÜV Rheinland), we clarify the recyclate content. This can be made correspondingly transparent by our flustix Recycled seal.”
This strengthens the security and above all credibility of the brands on the market.

You can read the complete article and what other experts say in German at PLASTVERARBEITER (registration required).