How Belkin Is Leading Sustainable Innovation in Tech: Introducing a New Recycled Plastic Program at CES 2023, Covered by ZDNet

Image: Belkin

Belkin is kicking off 2023 by celebrating 40 years of business. Alongside the celebration, Belkin is announcing a pretty significant sustainability effort to use 73–75% of post-consumer recycled plastics (PCR) in its most popular products such as wireless chargers, power banks, wall chargers and car chargers . Furthermore, Belkin will begin using plastic-free packaging for those same products.

Special Feature

CES 2023: The Biggest Trends for Pros Find all the exciting innovation from CES 2023 in this ZDNET special feature. Read now

Also: What tech is in the CES 2023 bag of ZDNET’s Editor in Chief?

Not all recycled plastics are created equal. For example, there’s excess plastic (PIR) that’s created during the manufacturing process that’s then recycled and put back into the manufacturing process, and then there’s post-consumer recycled plastics (PCR) that comes from products we’ve used and thrown away or submitted for recycling. In other words, the latter form of recycled material redirects waste that normally would have ended up in a landfill.

Also: CES 2023 tech you can actually buy now

There are many challenges in using PCR in a product, but one of the more challenging aspects is getting a material that looks, feels and is as resilient as the typical plastic Belkin uses.

Also: OtterBox unveils OtterGrip Symmetry Series iPhone case at CES 2023

Belkin was able to source two vendors with PCR that met their requirements, and even though the material is more expensive, Belkin plans on absorbing the cost instead of passing it on to customers.

The following Belkin products will be the first to ship with its new PCR material over the course of 2023, starting in Europe:

Belkin is currently working on integrating PCR in 20 more products and will start releasing those after the chargers have launched.

You’ll be able to identify when you’re buying one of the new PCR-made products by looking at the packing for labels, either “Made with Recycled Plastic Products” or “100% Plastic Free Packaging.”