Samsung uses discarded fishing nets to make recyclable parts | Know more here

The tech giant, Samsung, in its Galaxy devices, will employ more recycled and ocean-bound plastic.

In a media roundtable, the company reiterated that by 2030, 50 per cent of their Galaxy products will use recycled plastic resin, and that it intends to increase that percentage to 100 per cent by the year 2050. Samsung claims to have established a new Circular Economy Lab to study resource extraction techniques and material recycling technology.

A circular economy and addressing the climate issue are two of the big challenges of our time, said Materials R&D manager at Samsung Electronics, Pranveer Singh Rathore, who made the statement at an online round table discussion with the media. Businesses, governments, and the general public all have important roles to play in this situation, and we must work together to fulfil them. At Samsung, we will build a sustainable ecosystem throughout our value chain and rely on our expertise in creating new products and services, he added.

Samsung said earlier this year that it has teamed up with Royal DSM, a science-based organisation, to collect fishing nets from fishermen who collect them throughout the Indian Ocean’s shores. The company collects the nets, separates, cuts, cleans, and extrudes them to create a material that is environmentally conscious and contains at least 80% recycled polyamide, or nylon.

Later, Samsung worked with polymer compounding manufacturer Hanwha Compound to improve the material’s performance to meet Samsung’s requirements for smartphone technology. The substance is converted into polyamide resins that contain at least 20 per cent recycled fishing nets. Samsung used these recycled polyamide resins to create the inner cover of the S Pen and the key bracket for the Galaxy S22 series, which are now suitable for use in mobile technology.

Samsung has included the technology in its most recent foldable phones in addition to the flagship S22 series. The new Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Z Fold 4 are the first folding phones produced by the firm that use recycled fishing nets in part of their construction. The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro also contains more than 90% recyclable materials.