Posted to News on 22nd Jan 2020, 00:00
Igus initiates first recycling programme for energy chains
What happens when a plastic energy chain reaches its maximum service life? Usually, it is disposed of and incinerated with other plastic waste. With its ‘Igus green chainge recycling program’, Igus is now doing something completely new: users can send their plastic chains to igus for recycling – irrespective of the manufacturer. They can eliminate disposal costs and also receive a voucher for making purchases from Igus.
In the UK, over 5 million tonnes of plastic is consumed each year – and yet only a quarter of it is recycled. Even though a long-lasting plastic energy chain is not comparable with single-use plastics, the question of how to dispose of it at the end of its service life still arises. Normally, the energy chain is disposed of together with other plastic waste. Recycling rarely occurs as the cost of separating the different materials in a product and recycling them to make usable granulate (grinding) is too high. In most factories, the usual procedure is therefore to remove energy chains from their machines and throw them into industrial waste skips for incineration. Igus is now offering an environmentally friendly alternative.
The aim of the program is to recycle the plastic from energy chains and reuse it for new products. To this end, after cleaning them, users can send their old out-of-use plastic energy chains to Igus – irrespective of the chain’s original manufacturer. The plastics are then sorted, cleaned, shredded and packed. After this, they can be reused. In return, the customer receives a voucher amounting to £0.25 per kilogram.
Igus CEO Frank Blase said: “This is not something new for us. As the world’s biggest manufacturer of plastic energy chains, we already recycle 99% of the plastic waste occurring in production. The ‘chainge’ program is now the next important step in the direction of sustainable business operations.”
