Sony (Tokyo / Japan; www.sony.net) will begin marketing its flame-retardant “Sorplas” sustainable oriented recycled plastic outside the group in October. The flame-retardant rPC is said to offer high durability and heat resistance, comprising up to 99% recycled content. Key customers include manufacturers and consumer electronics retailers, the company said.

Sorplas is sourced from PC recycled from a range of products, such as DVDs and optical sheets used in LCD televisions. The recycled polycarbonate is then blended with Sony’s proprietary sulphur-based flame retardant that achieves the same flame resistance as conventional flame retardants, but at much lower quantities, the Japanese conglomerate said. The process differs from the production of conventional rPC, the company says, in that the latter requires the additional of large amounts of both virgin PC and flame retardant.

Sony’s use of its own flame retardant allows the properties of polycarbonate to be retained, the company said, adding that Sorplas can thus incorporate a much higher proportion of recycled materials while still achieving a better durability and heat resistance (of up to 42°C) than conventional flame-retardant PC. The Japanese group said these properties can be retained even if Sorplas is repeatedly recycled or used in severe environments.

Sony will make available three different grades in October. They include “SPL-EC30”, which it says is easy to mould, “SPL-EC50”, claimed to be resistant to high impacts, as well as its thin, flame-retardant “SPL-R20T”, which is said to be difficult to burn.

Sony has been using Sorplas in its own products – including its “Bravia”series of LCD televisions – since 2011.