Two global electronics companies, Panasonic and Logitech, recently released reports on their current recycled plastic use and their goals for the coming years.
Starting with Panasonic, the manufacturer of everything from personal phones to commercial HVAC equipment used more than 42,000 tons of recycled plastic between 2020 and 2022. The company aims to use 90,000 tons between 2023 and 2025.
Panasonic is also focusing on donation options, subscription models and designing for modular repair. The company operates its own recycling facilities and can recycle up to 95% of the materials from its own air conditioning systems.
In North America, a partnership with Redwood Materials will give Panasonic access to recycled cathode materials and copper foil for lithium-ion batteries.
Turning to Logitech, the manufacturer best known for its keyboards and mice recently published its Fiscal Year 2023 Impact Report, noting that nearly 58% of its products include PCR.
Logitech refers to PCR from end-of-life electronics as “Next Life Plastics,” and according to the impact report, the company is conducting research to expand their use. By weight, plastic parts make up the biggest segment of Logitech’s materials portfolio at 36%, followed by paper packaging at 34%.
“Our first keyboard with recycled plastic (K400 Plus) was launched in 2019,” the report noted. “However, before now, it was not possible to use recycled plastic in the keycaps of a Logitech keyboard because recycled plastic could not meet our cosmetic, quality and durability standards because of challenges associated with how ink adheres to recycled plastic.”
In 2023, the company created a new ink recipe and modified the printing process to address the problem and enable the use of PCR in the keycaps. It is also testing how to use ocean-bound plastic in accessories such as headset straps, carry bags and mouse pads.
