The automotive industry uses recycled plastics to promote sustainable development

        In the "carbon neutrality" craze, all walks of life are keen to study sustainable development and think about how to "turn waste into treasure". The automotive industry, which shoulders the heavy responsibility of decarbonization, is no exception. From recycling wood to using plastic bottles to make seat covers, the automotive industry is working hard to transform landfill materials into alternatives to other environmentally harmful resources.

        Audi sears seats are made of yarn processed from 89% ground PET bottles

        Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is commonly used to make disposable items such as shopping bags, beverages and straws. They take 500 years to naturally decompose into microplastics or nanoplastics, which has a greater impact on the natural environment. The most common way for automakers to recycle plastic is to convert it into interior decoration. German automaker Audi is developing a seat made of yarn made from 89% PET bottles. American auto giant Ford has used Repreve, a hybrid fiber made from recycled plastic water bottles and post-industrial waste, on some of its models.

        Volvo replaces leather trim with Nordico material

        Swedish automaker Volvo recently began to replace leather trim with Nordico material. Nordico is a textile made from recycled PET bottles, biomaterials and cork recycled from wine bottles. Cupra, the Spanish arm of the Volkswagen Group, has begun upcycling Mediterranean plastics into seat materials for its electric hatchback, the Born.

        A total of 132 pounds of recycled plastics are used in the BMW iX, an electric SUV

        In addition to interior trim, recycled plastics are also used to make other car parts. BMW uses recycled plastics to make the door panels, seats, center console and floor of its new iX electric SUV, with each car containing a total of 132 pounds of recycled plastics.

        Nissan Lead, French Renault Zoe electric cars use recycled textiles

        It is estimated that the modern clothing industry accounts for 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions, and the textile industry emits 1.2 billion tons of greenhouse gases each year. Car manufacturing using recycled clothing is nothing new. During the Cold War, East Germany used a fiberglass-like material made from waste cotton. However, these cars were bare, difficult to use and difficult to recycle. Now, with the development of material technology. Car companies have better ways to deal with recycled textiles. Nissan has used recycled textiles to make sound insulation for their electric cars. France's Renault has used seat material made from recycled seatbelts, textile waste and plastic bottles in its Zoe electric car.

        Ford Recycles Agricultural Waste: From Coffee Beans to Headlights

        According to the World Food Programme, humans throw away about 1.3 billion tons of food every year. If wasted food were a country, it would be the world's third-largest producer of carbon dioxide, after the United States and China. McDonald's produces about 30,000 tons of coffee chaff - the outer shell that falls off coffee beans during the roasting process - every year. However, rather than incinerate the coffee chaff, the company is working with Ford Motor Company, which is turning the chaff into a bio-based plastic for use in high-temperature plastic parts such as headlight covers. These parts are 20% lighter and require 25% less energy to build than regular plastics.

        Raw flax body panels on Porsche test car

        Porsche has used a natural fiber blend made from flax to produce the doors and rear wing of the 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR race car. Other prototype parts, including but not limited to the front and rear skirts, front spoiler lip, and front and rear covers are currently being tested on the track.