Jaguar Land Rover and BASF aim to tackle the world’s plastic waste problem head-on

Jaguar Land Rover is trialling a new recycling process that will convert plastic waste into a new premium grade material.

Working in collaboration with chemical firm, BASF, the pilot programme called ChemCycling will upcycle waste plastic heading for landfill into a high-quality material 

Using a thermochemical process the waste plastic is transformed into pyrolysis oil, before it is fed into BASF’s production chain. The end product is a new material that has the same quality and performance properties of ‘virgin’ plastics.

Currently the upcycled plastic is being tested on a Jaguar I-PACE prototype to check it meets the same stringent safety requirements of the original part. If successful, future Jaguars and Land Rovers could feature recycled plastic parts that don’t compromise on quality or performance.

The new high grade plastic can also be tempered and coloured, which gives Jaguar Land Rover an ideal sustainable solution for designing dashboards and exterior surfaces for future vehicles.

Chris Brown, Jaguar Land Rover’s Senior Sustainability Manager, said plastic remains vital to car manufacturing but solving the issue of waste remains a major global challenge, adding:

“At Jaguar Land Rover, we are proactively increasing recycled content in our products, removing single-use plastics across our operations, and reducing excess waste across the product lifecycle. 

“The collaboration with BASF is just one way in which we are advancing our commitment to operating in a circular economy.”

This is the latest example of the business’ commitment to address the challenge of waste plastic. 

Already Jaguar Land Rover has met its 2020 target for Zero Waste to landfill for its UK operations, including the removal of 1.3 million m2 of plastic – equal to 187 football pitches – from its manufacturing line, and replacing 14 million single use plastic items from business operations.

Earlier this year Jaguar Land Rover announced trials to give aluminium a second life by reforming it into a new high grade material that can be used to construct future vehicles.

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