Breaking the Mould: How Plastek UK is Rising to the Challenge of the Circular Economy
Plastek UK is playing a pivotal role in the Group’s 5-year strategic plan to evolve our entire business around the demands of the Circular Economy. A Net-Zero operation is our ultimate goal, and we are investing millions to achieve it as quickly as possible.
Amongst the areas in which we have already found considerable success are:
- Increased use of Post-Consumer Resin (PCR)
- Light-weighting (via thin-walling or redesign)
- Reduced Product Carbon Footprint


Post-Consumer Resin
It has been calculated that products manufactured from PCR have a carbon footprint that is around 25% less than products made from virgin resin.
The use of PCR brings two immediate benefits:
- It breaks the dependency on virgin materials produced from natural resources using fossil fuels.
- It creates a use for material that would have been waste.
It is therefore a valuable contribution to the eventual creation of Circular Economy.
Light-weighting
In products which are not suitable for PCR manufacture, we are working hard to reduce environmental impact by combining design excellence and technical skill to modify products to use less raw material whilst retaining consumer appeal and functionality.
Using thinner walls and redesigning components to remove any material that does not add value can have remarkably worthwhile effects when multiplied over the very large production runs that are typical for Plastek.
Additionally, our engineers are now trialling foaming technology which can reduce the amount of plastic used within the internal structure of mouldings whilst leaving the surface perfectly finished and the functionality unaffected.
Product Carbon Footprint
Working towards a Circular Economy is an activity that affects all areas of industry, not just our sector.
Plastek is leading the way with a new project which focuses on the three products we have now moved from virgin resin to PCR. This ‘cradle to gate’ study assesses the carbon footprint of these products throughout their lifespan, allowing us to demonstrate the reduction we have achieved and also helping us to develop new ways to lessen our products’ carbon footprint still further.

Measuring Success – The Carbon Disclosure Project
Plastek Group is proud to have been an early adopter of the Carbon Disclosure Project, which provides countries, cities, government departments and businesses with data systems to allow them to assess and track their environmental impact.
CDP assesses a wide range of inputs to determine environmental performance, with particular attention to carbon efficiency and factors that affect climate change. The organisation is then ranked in 4 categories: “Awareness (D), Disclosure (C), Management (B), and Leadership (A)”.