September 12, 2025 15:16

In collaboration with The Future Is Neutral, the circular economy consortium established three years ago by Renault, the chemical group Röhm has developed, with Valeo, a prototype automotive rear lighting unit made of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) containing 30% mechanically recycled material recovered from end-of-life car lights.

Within the project, The Future Is Neutral provided dismantled taillights, Röhm created formulations with different recycled content, and Valeo manufactured a demonstrator that will be presented at Röhm’s booth during K2025 in Düsseldorf.

The next step, already planned, involves a second round of testing using chemically recycled PMMA.

The initiative stems from the Europe-wide recycling alliance for polymethyl methacrylate, launched last year by Röhm together with partners from the plastics industry. The goal is to establish a collection and sorting system for PMMA waste, coupled with mechanical recycling solutions and, in the future, chemical recycling.

The growing interest of the automotive industry in recycled materials is also linked to the revision of the European End-of-Life Vehicle Regulation, currently under discussion in Brussels. The latest draft approved by the European Parliament requires that future vehicles contain at least 20% recycled plastics, with up to 50% of this quota fulfilled using pre-consumer materials such as industrial scrap.

© Polimerica -  Reproduction prohibited, all rights reserved