Using circular economy principles to recycle toys

Many of us are familiar with this scene in our children's bedrooms: when the kids have outgrown their toys, the latter typically get boxed up until we finally take heart and purge them. But it doesn't have to be that way: the initiative of the HolyPoly company takes recycling steps to create new toys – that look slightly different.

In this interview, the founding members and employees of the Dresden startup explain the steps it takes to recycle toys, talk about the partners they found for their project, and reveal how the new products can benefit children in a different way.

What is HolyPoly's objective?

Johanna Bialek: We work towards a world where using recycled plastic to make new products has become the norm. The goal is to create high-quality products that are made from 100 percent recycled materials and that are 100 percent recyclable.

Fridolin Pflüger: We help brand manufacturers to overcome the respective challenges and thrive in our changing times.

Why has plastic recycling been so difficult? How does your company plan to change that?

Roman Maletz: Recycling per se is not that complex: you can use a preprocessed, high-quality plastic waste stream of known origin to make products that are equivalent to those made from primary material and that meet the complex requirement profiles for the wide variety of plastic products. The challenge is to provide a high-quality waste stream. This can be done by separating and measuring the various kinds of plastic in the waste stream. However, there are many products that are not (or cannot be) returned to reusable waste streams. 

second life. The recycled toys will be used to create playground equipment that will be donated to a children's facility. Our program supports Mattel in its goal to achieve 100 percent recycled, recyclable or bio-based plastics materials in both its products and packaging by 2030.

Felix Schulz: HolyPoly is presently managing the PlayBack project in Germany: handling process design, waste management legislation, logistics planning, recycling process coordination, public relations, as well as product development and playground production based on the collected old toys.

What is the general process that turns toys into a new product such as playground equipment, for example?

Schulz: We first procure the material we need to make the new products. For example, private households mail material to us free of charge using shipping labels they can create on the website. We also collect material from residential sources such as schools and day nurseries.

A certified recycling company subsequently documents and checks the materials. The recycling process starts right here, which includes crushing, sorting, cleaning, processing, and recovery of non-recyclable components. Separating materials by type is a major challenge in this setting, as the collected toys are often mixed-material products. Design for recycling is a strategy that would make this process easier and more effective in the run-up.

This is followed by the required materials testing. The recycled material then becomes the foundation for the concept, design, and construction of the playground – we call this design from recycling. The final step is to use the material and create the new product.

What have been your project successes thus far?

Pflüger: Initially, the program caused quite a stir in the toy, plastics, and recycling industries. It is obvious that it was carefully designed and merges sustainability communication with the R&D cycle – making it a genuine pioneering project. It takes active marketing to reach out to end users – as Germans are not yet used to mail-in programs. After the first few months were off to a slow start, mail-ins have seen a sharp increase since September. We expanded the program with the residential collection and pickup at day nurseries and schools in early December and hope to see a further increase as a result.

What are your goals for next year?

Maletz: During our first year, we supported many brands in a wide variety of industries, including fashion and medicine. Now we want to scale these projects as it pertains to the number of customers and recycled materials, allowing us to make a valuable contribution to resource conservation and greenhouse gas emissions reduction.

Pflüger: Our first mass-produced products will be available on the market, which is a major milestone. We will also add effective communication to send a clear signal and get the message across that sophisticated products groups and material flows can embrace the principles of the circular economy. From a recycling perspective, we also consider investing in larger facilities besides our development center in downtown Dresden.