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Recently, Covestro joined forces with domestic partners in the recycling value chain to help develop China’s **standards for recycled polycarbonate. The new national standard will come into effect on July 13, 2021, establishing regulations for the quality and performance requirements of post-consumer and post-industrial recycled polycarbonate. In addition, it specifies the testing methods for recycled materials, as well as the conditions for packaging, transportation, and storage, to ensure that recycled products are handled properly throughout the entire value chain. As one of the world’s largest plastic producers, China is taking various measures to promote plastic recycling within the country, while banning or restricting the use of single-use plastic products. Polycarbonate is a highly durable, multi-functional engineering plastic with high recycling value. Covestro stated, “It is crucial to establish unified standards, as this will not only strengthen the polycarbonate recycling value chain but also facilitate the use of these recycled materials in downstream applications.” As a global leader in sustainable solutions for polycarbonates, Covestro is proud to contribute our expertise to help establish standards, while realizing our vision of a circular economy. ” To convert polycarbonate waste into high-quality recycled materials, strict quality control procedures are necessary, as well as close cooperation among all parties involved in the value chain. After products made of polycarbonate are discarded, they first need to be collected, sorted, chopped, and cleaned by recycling companies, before being processed into pellets. Then, Covestro mixes these recycled plastics with virgin polycarbonate to produce high-quality post-consumer recycled materials that can be used again in new products such as laptops, copiers, printers, and other electronic devices. Previously, Covestro had already worked together with beverage supplier Nongfu Spring and recycling company Ocel to create a closed-loop system for material use through innovative business models. Through this collaboration, the three parties further improved the recycling efficiency of Nongfu Spring’s 19-liter polycarbonate water buckets, enhancing the traceability and quality of the recycled materials. Building on this successful case, Covestro plans to further explore the recycling of other types of waste, such as electronic waste, in order to help the electronics and electrical industry achieve a circular economy. Covestro also stated that \"improving the quality and standardization of recycled plastics is key to achieving a circular economy.\" It is believed that the introduction of national standards for recycled polycarbonate will bring greater transparency to its quality, thereby boosting market demand. ”