BASF and Teamplas Group, a leading manufacturer of recycled pellets in Southeast Asia, on November 14 announced that they have collaborated to transform post-consumer waste into new high-quality office equipment and car interior parts with the help of BASF's IrgaCycle.

With a wide network of local waste collectors of household products, E&E equipment, and end-of-life vehicles, Teamplas produces recycled pellets for use mainly in electrical appliances.

To address their customers' growing demand for high-quality recycled resins, Teamplas decided to use IrgaCycle to harness mixtures of polyolefin plastics and mitigate the thermal and mechanical stress of the recycling process.

“Our priority is to help Teamplas control the variation in the quality of recyclates and improve the performance of their final products,” said Hazel Sprafke, vice president, Global Business Management, Plastic Additives, Asia Pacific.

“As IrgaCycle is a unique combination of additives, it is safe and easy to dose as needed to minimize the impact of impurities in recyclates,” Sprafke said.

BASF and Teamplas recycles consumer waste

In addition, with the use of IrgaCycle, Teamplas can improve the surfaces of parts produced using their recyclates.

Chair armrests, printer exteriors, and car stereo frames can all be produced with higher gloss and greater long-term thermal stability.

IrgaCycle can even enable these finished products to be made with 100 per cent recycled pellets.

The use of plastics in high-value applications drives a growing circular economy and helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions for a positive impact on climate change.

“The joint efforts between BASF and Teamplas will continue as we aim to use IrgaCycle for applications in the packaging industry,” said Pongsakorn Atichatsrisakul, executive director of Teamplas Group. “Our partnership with BASF will not only help us tackle recycling quality but contribute to the goals laid out in the Thai government's National Roadmap on Plastic Waste Management for 2018-2030.”

As part of BASF's Valera's portfolio, IrgaCycle consists of a series of plastic additive formulations, which enable recycled plastics to be used for the production of high-value parts in combination with virgin materials.

BASF is one of the leading suppliers and manufacturers of plastic additives. Its comprehensive and innovative product portfolio includes additives that provide ease in processing, and heat and light resistance to various polymers and applications including moulded articles, films, fibres, sheets, and extruded profiles.

The portfolio is constantly analysed, evaluated, and actively improved solutions towards which make a larger contribution to sustainability.