Wastebuster and Recycle to Read held its third Toy Workstream webinar, ‘Toy design for circularity,’ with POC on 12 November, delving into the concept of designing toys for sustainability
As the Wastebuster team develops research into the viability of a brand-agnostic, nation-wide collection scheme for plastic toys, this latest stage covered the principles of designing products for sustainability, including how to design circularity into a product from the very beginning.
Regulations in toy sustainability
Hosted by Katy Newnham and David Ingham from Wastebuster, the webinar opened with an overview of UK, EU and US toy sustainability regulations.
A major one of which is ESPR (eco-design for sustainable products regulation), which is part of the European Green Deal & Circular Economy Action Plan (2020). The aim is to make sustainable products standard in the EU market and includes initiatives such as the digital product passport (DPP) for enhanced traceability.
The key principles of ESPR are durability, repairability, recyclability and recycled content, resource and energy efficiency, reduced harmful substances, and EPR (extended producer responsibility). The UK has retained the 2011 EU toy safety regulations post-Brexit, ensuring safety standards for toys made from recycled materials. Meanwhile in the US, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) governs toy safety, with stringent limits on lead and phthalates, and third-party testing requirements.
Circular principles
The design of products is paramount in achieving circularity, especially in toy manufacturing. David explained that there should be consideration given to a toy’s durability and repairability, including the availability of spare parts and consumables, the ability to disassemble the toy at the end of its life for easy recycling, and the ability for products to be mechanically recycled.
One of the main challenges is the varying recyclability of common plastic used, such as PE, PP, PS, PVC, ABS, PET/polyester. But there are emerging bio-based polymers that could offer a solution. While these bio polymers aim to improve recyclability and reduce carbon footprints, they can be costly and require certifications to ensure they break down safely without harmful residues.
It is also essential for manufacturers, but crucially consumers, to distinguish and be conscious of the difference between biodegradable and compostable materials, to ensure they are disposed of in the intended way at end-of-life. Biodegradable means that the material is designed to breakdown through microbial activity, but it may still leave toxic residue behind, and the time scale and the conditions required for the breakdown process can vary. Meanwhile, compostable means the material is designed to break down in controlled compositing conditions (either industrial or home composting), within a specific timeframe, without leaving behind any toxic residue.
Practical guidelines for material sourcing
A number of recycled plastic options are now available, such as rPET, rHDPE, rPE, PP, alternatively there is FSC-certified wood, recyclable metals, and organic textiles. However, the energy use in the supply chain needs to be considered, as well as how the materials are combined; mono-material products are much more readily recyclable, but if using multiple materials, there ought to be consideration into how they are joined or bonded for disassembly at end-of-life. Recycled polyester from PET bottles is a popular choice for toy fabrics, but considerations should be made for supply chain impacts and microplastics.
David emphasised the importance of supply chain certification and quality control, especially for recycled materials, and that individual batch testing is crucial to ensure compliance with standards and avoid contamination. However, there is the need for investment in supply chains to support the transition to circular economy principles.
Recycling technologies of the future
Emerging technologies such as chemical recycling, which goes beyond mechanical recycling and breaks down materials on a molecular level, so they can be remade into a product repeatedly with no loss of quality. AI technology presents opportunities for waste sorting to identify what can or can’t be reused, and innovations in biodegradable polymers offer an alternative to recycling. Further, reimagining the way toys are designed, such as with modular parts, and crucially replaceable parts, or a rethink of ownership models where toys are merely “rented” for the time until the child has outgrown or no longer wants the toy, can change the current consumption model altogether.
Considering packaging
It’s not just the toy itself that need be evaluated in relation to achieving circularity, but the packaging it comes in, Katy highlighted. Avoiding mixed materials, utilising recyclable paper and plastics, compostable materials, modular and reuseable packaging options, as well as lower impact alternatives to silica gel can support packaging circularity. Labelling is also essential, so the consumer and the recycling facilities can be informed of what the product is made of and how it can be disposed of. Recycling symbols and certification marks already exist, and there are the beginnings of QR codes and digital product passports for even greater information about a product’s composition and end-of-life options.
Labelling is also crucial for consumer awareness and education, to enable consumers to make informed choices. This can also be achieved through educational campaigns, digital resources, and alignment with the EU digital product passport policy, providing detailed information on recycling and disposal options as well as signposting to take-back programmes.
The full webinar recording is available on the Recycle to Read Members Hub. The next Toy Workstream Webinar is on ‘Frontier recycling including plush’ and will be held on 14 January 2025.
About Recycle to Read and Wastebuster
Recycle to Read is an impact programme of POC, developed by Wastebuster, a not-for-profit environmental education company on a mission to educate, inspire and empower children to care for the environment. With over eight billion toys sold globally each year, the vast majority of which are made from plastic, while one in eight UK primary schools don’t have a library and one in seven UK children don’t have a book of their own, Recycle to Read brings these two issues together into a solution. It has developed a recycling infrastructure for hard broken plastic toys, which children can exchange for books and educational resources for their school or family.
By becoming a member of Recycle to Read, you can get access to all the research, the recordings, URLs, and partners and suppliers, mentioned in the webinars. Additional member benefits include market access, visibility, branded awards, and insight and consultancy. Existing members already include the likes of Tesco, Harper Collins, Immediate Media, Seymour, Golden Bear, Hasbro, and Smart Games, with many more joining for the 2025 roll-out of the scheme in Tesco that will be inviting 18,000 UK schools to educate children about toys as a force for good to get books to support children’s literacy.
To find out more about signing up to be a member of Recycle to Read, contact Katy Newnham at katy@wastebuster.co.uk.
