IKEA is working to change all of the plastic used in IKEA products to plastic based on recycled and/or renewable materials by 2030. A collaboration with Neste was initiated in 2016. IKEA and Neste turn waste and residue raw materials, such as used cooking oil, as well as sustainable vegetable oils into polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) plastic. PP and PE plastic are some of the most commonly used plastic.

According to the companies, nobody has before been able to produce PP plastic from a fossil-free raw material other than on a laboratory scale. The pilot at commercial scale of PP and PE plastic, chosen to contain 20 % renewable content, will start during fall 2018. The production of bio-based plastics will be based on Neste’s 100 % renewable hydrocarbons.

IKEA will use the bio-based plastic in products that are part of the current product range, such as plastic storage boxes, starting with a limited number of products. As capacities improve, more products will follow.

• Neste Corporation, Espoo, Finland

• IKEA, Leiden, The Netherlands