IKEA and Neste have teamed up to use renewable waste and residual raw materials, such as used cooking oil, as well as sustainably produced vegetable oils in the production of plastic products. Commercial-scale pilot production, the first large-scale production of bio-based and renewable polypropylene plastic, is expected to take place during the fall of 2018.

IKEA wants to use more renewable and recycled materials to explore new materials for IKEA products and plans to switch all plastic used in IKEA products to plastic based on recycled and / or renewable materials by 2030. IKEA will use the new plastic in products such as boxes plastic storage, starting with a limited number of products.

The IKEA and Neste collaboration is able to convert raw material waste and waste, such as used cooking oil, as well as sustainable vegetable oils into polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) plastic, some of the most widely used plastics.

Erik Ljungblad, Category Manager Plastic Products at IKEA Sweden, said: “This new material represents a significant step towards a fossil-free future. No one has ever been able to produce PP plastic from a fossil-free raw material other than a laboratory scale. Together with Neste, we ensure that there is an opportunity to expand the production of this material. “

Senior Vice President Tuomas Hyyryläinen of Neste’s Emerging Businesses business unit commented: “The production of bioplastics on a commercial scale is a major achievement in the cooperation between Neste and IKEA, and also marks an important milestone in Neste’s strategy. IKEA is the first company to benefit from the developed supply capacity that helps companies and brand owners to replace fossil-based raw materials with sustainable bio-based raw materials. “