Pöppelmann using PCR in potted plant application - Recycling Today

Brian Taylor, Senior Editor

The North Carolina production facility of German plastic products manufacturer Pöppelmann has started using 100 percent-postconsumer-recycled (PCR) plastic to make its TEKU horticulture pots and trays product line.

Pöppelmann says the TEKU line represents the first such products made from 100 percent PCR in North America, adding the pots produced “meet the highest quality standards.” Its VCC 16.5 K round pot model is the first it has introduced made entirely from PCR.

“The material comes entirely from North American household plastic [scrap], i.e. from products that have already been in use,” Pöppelmann says. “This creates a material cycle that conserves natural resources because no more original material is needed to manufacture new products.”

Charlesie Hager, a North Carolina-based marketing coordinator with Pöppelmann, says the VCC 16.5 pots are made with recycled polypropylene (PP) using a combination of extrusion and injection molding processes.

The PCR pot was created as part of Pöppelmann's blue initiative, which the company says “uses many different measures to conserve resources and protect the climate, making effective use of the circular economy.”

The American-made VCC 16.5 K round pot is made with 100 percent-PCR plastic with only a masterbatch color and some filler as additives.

Pöppelmann says the round pot is particularly light, yet extremely stable and can be stacked easily.

The recycled-content VCC 16.5 K pot is available in all standard and customer-specific colors, except black because black plastics typically cannot be sorted using the standard recycling process.

“We are very proud that we are doing pioneering work on the North American market with this product,” says Alex McCrary, sales manager for the Pöppelmann TEKU line in the U.S., which is based in Claremont, North Carolina.

“With the plant pot, which is made exclusively from PCR material, we are helping our customers to make their own contribution to conserving resources and protecting the climate."