igus launches the world's first recycling program for energy and drag chains

How an old chain becomes new plastic granulate: 1. Clean the chain, 2. weigh it, 3. record the quantity and make contact, 4. send it. (Source: igus GmbH)

"igus takes responsibility and contributes to reducing plastic waste and improving recycling with the igus chainge recycling program," explains Frank Blase, Managing Director of igus GmbH. (Source: igus GmbH)

What happens when the maximum lifespan of a plastic energy or drag chain is reached? Usually, it is simply disposed of with other plastic waste and incinerated. With the “igus green chainge recycling program,” the motion plastics specialist igus is now taking a completely new approach: users can send their plastic chains – completely independent of the manufacturer – for recycling to igus. This way, they save disposal costs and additionally receive a value voucher for shopping at igus. Both customers and the environment benefit equally.

According to the Plastic Atlas 2019, only about 16 percent of the plastic waste generated in Germany is reused for new products. Even though a durable plastic energy chain is not comparable to everyday disposable products like plastic packaging, the question of disposal also arises at the end of its lifespan. Normally, the chain is disposed of together with other plastic waste. Recycling is rarely carried out because the effort of sorting by type and processing into reusable granulate (“grinding”) is too high. In most factories, it is therefore common to dismantle old energy and drag chains from their machines and throw them into industrial waste containers. In most cases, the plastics are then incinerated. igus now offers an environmentally friendly alternative with the “igus green chainge recycling program.”

Recycling made easy

The goal of the program is to recycle the plastic from energy and drag chains, reuse it, and thus bring it back into a material cycle. To do this, users can send their decommissioned, cleaned plastic chains to igus – completely independent of the chain manufacturer. The plastics are then sorted by material type, cleaned, shredded, and packaged. Afterwards, they can be reused by igus or other companies for the production of high-quality technical products. In return, the customer receives an igus voucher worth 0.78 euros per kilogram. “igus takes responsibility and, with the igus chainge recycling program, contributes to reducing plastic waste and improving recycling,” emphasizes Frank Blase, Managing Director of igus GmbH, and adds: “This topic is not new to us. As the world's largest manufacturer of plastic energy chains, 99 percent of the plastic waste generated in production is already being recycled into re-granulate today. The chainge program is now the next important step toward sustainable business practices.”

The igus green chainge recycling program will be rolled out worldwide in the coming weeks. Currently, igus is launching the program in Germany and will localize it in many other markets such as China, USA, Japan, Taiwan, or Korea.