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Circularise Plastics - blockchain technology to enable circularity in the plastics industry

Last updated: Jan 18, 2023

Summary

Circularise Plastics is a collaborative project between Covestro, a major supplier of high-tech polymers; Circularise, an innovative transparency start-up; and DOMO, a polyamide supplier. Launched in 2019, this cutting-edge initiative harnesses blockchain technology to enable circularity in the plastics industry.

Problem

Climate change and pollution are major challenges facing our planet in the 21st century. Traces of plastic can be found in the deepest parts of the oceans and in the most remote lakes in the mountains.

Solution

To ensure that plastics can be reused or recycled, it is essential to be able to trace the origin of all raw materials in the product. That is the idea behind the Circularise Plastics project, which makes it possible to find the source of all raw material inputs throughout the plastics supply chain. Thanks to this pioneering technology, better traceability can be established for plastics across the value chain, allowing all actors to choose sustainable options more confidently.

The ultimate goal is to create an open standard for sharing data about where resins or materials originate - information that is important for moving to circular production models that help the plastics industry increase the use of recycled content and decrease the use of virgin plastic.