Electrolux reports sharp upsurge in recycled plastics usage in 2016

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The leading consumer goods manufacturer Electrolux has reported significant surge in usage of recycled plastics in their products during 2016. According to the 2016 Sustainability Report 2016 released yesterday by the company, the use of recycled plastics has grown from vacuum cleaners to a wide range of new products. The company has also achieved major milestone in usage of recycled steel in appliances produced by it.

According to the report, plastics are one of the most important materials used in the design of appliances. The company has almost doubled the use of recycled plastics in 2016 over the past two years. The amount of recycled plastic used by Electrolux climbed higher by almost 1,000 tonnes to 7,400 tonnes in 2016. The increased use of high-quality recycled plastic in products has helped the company to reduce CO₂ emissions resulting from its operations and promote a more closed resource loop. The company’s patented recycled plastic Carborec was increasingly used in production of various appliances. The company noted that it would continue to identify more components and appliances where Carborec could be used. In future, it plans to develop more products with recycled plastics.

The shift towards scrap-based steel in North America has contributed to significant reduction in steel carbon footprint. The company will implement similar working models at other facilities, by shifting its supply from steel made from iron ore to scrap-based steel. Incidentally, steel is the largest material used by the company in terms of volume. According to Sustainability Report 2016, the company has reduced the proportion of recycled steel in its products from 7% in 2013 to as high as 22% in 2016, thereby reducing steel-related carbon emissions by almost 170,000 tonnes. The average carbon emission per tonne of steel has reduced from 21 to 1.8 tonnes of CO₂.

In 2016, consumer products with the best environment performance accounted for 20% of the total units sold. Strong focus on product efficiency has yielded positive results in key markets, especially in Europe. The company aims to embed the same approach of water and energy efficiency throughout all regions and product ranges. The company continues to invest about a third of its R&D spend on product efficiency, the report noted.

As part of its sustainability objectives, the company plans to improve the energy efficiency of manufacturing sites and warehouses by 20% by 2020. Also, the proportion of renewable energy for operations will be increased to 50%. As of 2016, 13 manufacturing sites in Europe switched to renewable electricity.

The company aims to reduce its environmental impact by increasing its use of recycled materials by way of several innovative approaches. It targets to make better use of resources by using more recycled materials. Further, it also plans to introduce new programs to promote market for recycling. By 2020, the company plans to increase the volume of recycled plastics to 20,000 tonnes per annum. Electrolux noted that it will replace virgin materials with recycled materials and adapt new product designs to further increase the use of recycled materials.

Stockholm, Sweden-headquartered Electrolux is a global leader in home appliances such as refrigerators, dishwashers, washing machines, cookers, vacuum cleaners, air conditioners and small domestic appliances. The group sells more than 60 million products to customers in more than 150 countries every year.