A pilot project in Upper Franconia is intended to show what recycling options there are for broken or discarded toys. Until now, toys have been disposed of with the residual waste, and only a few companies have offered to take their products back for recycling, says Cornelia Becker, sustainability expert at the German Association of the Toy Industry. “There is no industry-wide solution yet.”
In Neustadt near Coburg, people can currently dispose of unusable toys that would normally end up in the garbage can at the municipal recycling center. The response so far has been very good, says Becker.
The plastics in toys in particular could often be recycled instead of ending up in the garbage. “Especially in the current situation, that would be a waste,” emphasizes Becker. Usually no new toys are made from the material because the specifications are strict – but everyday objects are. “You can make a variety of products out of it.”
The Neustadt-based toy company Heunec and the disposal service provider Zentek are also on board with the project, which is initially scheduled to run until at least the end of March. According to Becker, the association wants to use the empirical values from the pilot project to examine what an industry-wide solution for toy recycling could look like. According to Becker, it is not possible to quantify how many toys currently end up in the residual waste, since residual waste is usually incinerated.
The topic of sustainability also plays an important role at the toy fair in Nuremberg, which begins on Wednesday. Under the motto “toys go green” there is a special exhibition area for sustainable products and ideas.