BMW Group Malaysia Commits To Upcycling Initiative To Reduce Plastic Waste

BMW Group Malaysia has announced its commitment to a year-long multi-stakeholder upcycling initiative to reduce plastic waste. This initiative will incorporate the use of Precious Plastic machines to give plastic waste generated from all BMW Group Malaysia activities a second life.

The BMW Group has great ambitions to lower carbon emissions from all its production plants and sites by 80%, targeting the biggest reductions industry-wide in this area by 2030. This will require years of research, innovation, and collaborative expertise on a global scale, which BMW Group Malaysia is proud to be a part of. And on the individual level, there are also many impactful ways to help tackle climate change in Malaysia. The most commonly overlooked issue being plastic pollution.

“To exemplify the BMW Group’s solutions-focused direction, we must lead a movement by example – no matter the size of impact left. Here at BMW Group Malaysia, we are putting words into action by installing our own Precious Plastic machines to give our office, household, and daily plastic waste a second, more meaningful life,” said Sashi Ambi, Head of Corporate Communications at BMW Group Malaysia.

The local body of a global movement, Precious Plastic Malaysia, is an organisation that focuses on converting and upcycling plastic waste into usable everyday items as a means to fight plastic pollution. By breaking down used common plastics into chips, they can be melted down and moulded into something new, thus creating treasure from trash.

The support of BMW Group Malaysia’s employees, dealers, customers, and media friends in recycling their plastic waste can lend to a lasting impact on reducing plastic pollution, one step at a time.

How to Identify Plastics

There are many types of plastics used on a daily basis and without much thought to them. Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and Polypropylene (PP) are the most common plastics found. They can be easily identified by the number label that is typically available along the sides or the bottom of the item.

Plastics labelled “2” (for HDPE) and “5” (PP) are most commonly used and recycled in Malaysia, followed by “1” (PET) which is an inexpensive material common in single-use items. With the Precious Plastic machines, plastics labelled “2” and “5” can be upcycled into everyday items. This recycling initiative is the beginning of a year-long plastic upcycling project that aims to significantly reduce the disposal of plastic waste from across all BMW Group Malaysia activities and divert them from landfills. Internal education and training on plastic upcycling will also run concurrently, where BMW employees will receive hands-on training to create precious items out of plastic waste for upcoming community projects.