Introduction

Polyurethane (PU) foam is a versatile material widely used in industries ranging from construction and automotive to furniture and packaging. Known for its lightweight, insulating, and cushioning properties, PU foam plays a crucial role in enhancing the performance and comfort of products. In the construction sector, it is used for thermal insulation, while in the automotive industry, it serves as a key component for seat cushioning. 

Despite its benefits, PU foam presents significant challenges when it comes to disposal and recycling, making its sustainability and circular economy potential a key area of focus. The Circular Foam Project aims to tackle these challenges by integrating innovative solutions for recycling PU foam and promoting circularity within industries. 

One of the foundational elements of this initiative is the concept of digital product passports (DPPs), which enable manufacturers, recyclers, and consumers to track the life cycle of products and materials. DPPs offer a digital platform for sharing detailed information about a product’s composition, including how it can be reused or recycled. This transparency is crucial for the efficient recycling of PU foam, allowing stakeholders to employ circular economy r-strategies to reduce waste and foster a circular economy. 

This article highlights how DPPs can optimise recycling practices, ensure regulatory compliance, and create a foundation for greater industry collaboration. As industries continue to embrace DPPs, the path to a more sustainable and circular future for materials like PU foam becomes increasingly achievable.

What is PU foam, where is it used, and what is its impact?

Polyurethane (PU) foam is a versatile material made by polymerising polyurethane with other compounds, creating a foam structure that is lightweight, durable, and flexible. Characterised by its excellent insulating properties, sound absorption, and its ability to be moulded into various shapes. It is often used as a cushioning, sealing, or insulating material, making it a popular choice in many industries. 

PU foam is widely used in construction for thermal insulation in walls, roofs, and floors, helping buildings stay energy-efficient by reducing heating and cooling costs. Another significant use is in packaging, especially for delicate electronic products like smartphones, laptops, and televisions, where the foam offers shock absorption and protection during transit. Consumer products such as furniture cushions, mattresses, and automotive seating, providing comfort and support also make use of PU foam, and it can also be found in medical devices, sports equipment, and soundproofing materials, showing its broad range of applications across different sectors

Despite its benefits, PU foam poses environmental challenges, especially when it comes to waste and recycling. The material is not biodegradable, and improper disposal leads to significant accumulation in landfills, where it can take hundreds of years to break down. The production of PU foam also relies on petrochemical resources, contributing to resource depletion and environmental degradation. 

Recycling PU foam is also difficult due to its complex composition and the lack of widespread infrastructure for foam-specific recycling processes. As a result, a large portion of used PU foam ends up in landfills, exacerbating issues of waste management. It is clear that innovative solutions are needed to reduce PU foam’s lifecycle footprint and promote sustainable alternatives.

What are digital product passports (DPPs)?

Digital product passports (DPPs) are digital tools that provide detailed, standardised information about a product throughout its lifecycle. These digital profiles typically include data on the materials used, manufacturing processes, and end-of-life (EoL) disposal options, enabling greater traceability and transparency across supply chains. By offering access to product information, DPPs empower manufacturers, consumers, and recyclers with the knowledge needed to make informed decisions. 

In the context of recycling and circular economy initiatives, DPPs play a crucial role by ensuring that products can be easily disassembled, reused, or recycled in a responsible manner. They help track a product’s components and materials, making it easier to separate valuable resources from waste and reduce the environmental impact of production and disposal. Through DPPs, industries can achieve more efficient resource management, contributing to a sustainable and circular economy.

The EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) has made DPPs a mandatory tool for tracking and sharing product information. By providing detailed, accessible data about the materials and environmental impact of products, DPPs enable manufacturers to meet the stringent requirements set forth by the ESPR, helping companies comply with the regulation and other global sustainability initiatives. 

By integrating DPPs into their processes, companies can streamline their compliance efforts, reduce the risk of non-compliance, and contribute to broader environmental goals.

How DPPs unlock benefits for PU foam recycling

DPPs offer a solution to improving the sustainability of PU foam by collecting and sharing the necessary data across various stages of its lifecycle required for recycling. One of the key advantages is improved material traceability, which ensures that companies can track the recycled content of PU foam products and make verifiable claims about their sustainability. With DPPs, manufacturers can also trace the geographical origin of materials, which helps in building a more resilient value chain. This transparency allows businesses to diversify their suppliers and prepare for potential disruptions, such as geopolitical conflicts or unforeseen shortages, ensuring a steady supply of critical materials.

Another significant benefit is enhanced end-of-life (EoL) management. DPPs provide recyclers and other EoL operators with essential information on how to disassemble products efficiently, minimising the risk of damaging valuable components during the recycling process. Knowing the exact location of the PU foam and having clear guidelines on how to break it down can help dismantlers significantly improve their recovery rates. The detailed composition data provided by DPPs enables recyclers to select the best recycling method for the material, while also ensuring the proper handling of hazardous substances to prevent contamination and maximise the quality of recycled output.

Increased consumer trust is another critical advantage of DPPs. As consumers become more environmentally conscious, they demand greater transparency about the products they purchase. By providing verifiable, easily accessible product data, DPPs allow companies to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability, ultimately boosting consumer confidence in their products.

Moreover, DPPs play a crucial role in supporting regulatory compliance and sustainability claims. There are several EU regulations that specifically impact PU foam, its lifecycle, and recycling processes, and DPPs ensure that companies can meet these requirements. Other than the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), regulations such as the REACH Regulation (EC 1907/2006) and the Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC) outline key environmental standards that must be followed. By providing a digital record of product components, origin, and recycling methods, DPPs make it easier for businesses to demonstrate compliance with these regulations, support their sustainability claims, and contribute to the broader goals of the European Union’s Green Deal.

How Circular Foam developed DPPs for companies

Circularise has made significant progress in improving value chain communication through its product traceability platform, as exemplified by the Circular Foam project. This initiative developed functional digital product passports (DPPs) for various stakeholders, including industry players and end-users. The project highlighted the critical requirements for achieving traceability and demonstrated its potential to drive circular practices, foster innovative business models, and enhance overall sustainability.

The Circular Foam project focused on key products such as a refrigerator door manufactured by Electrolux, an insulation board by Unilin, and a metal panel by Kingspan, all incorporating foam supplied by Covestro. Each product now features a dedicated DPP that tracks its lifecycle while safeguarding sensitive information, such as chemical composition.

To achieve this, Circularise and its partners collaboratively defined the products and components to trace. Selections were based on their potential to yield valuable insights, their contribution to the final product, and their environmental significance. Conducting workshops with partners identified the specific data needed, encompassing manufacturing activities, regulatory requirements, and company certifications. 

The main data categories identified included chemical composition, sourcing information, installation and dismantling guidelines, and environmental impact data. Find out more about the Circular Foam Case Study.

Lessons learned in DPP implementation

The creation of digital product passports (DPPs) involved several steps, with defining the required data being one of the most time-intensive. The growing number of regulations around data sharing, value chain transparency, and due diligence has created challenges for many companies. Many businesses lack clarity about these regulations and are uncertain about the specific data they need to collect, the questions to ask suppliers, or the information they must provide to downstream actors. 

To address these challenges, Circularise consulted with various departments within partner organisations — such as sustainability, procurement, and legal — to incorporate diverse perspectives. Circularise also leveraged its expertise and experience from previous projects to guide these co-creation processes effectively. 

One of the main concerns in data tracing is the protection of sensitive data. Data tracing is mandatory for ESPR compliance, but the risk of data leakage, which could compromise a company’s intellectual property (IP), has made many businesses hesitant to adopt data-sharing platforms. Circularise addresses this by using Smart Questioning, the patented encryption technology to secure data across the supply chain, protecting it from cyber threats. 

“It is absolutely essential to be able to share information that will be required for full traceability and assessment requirements while also allowing proprietary information to be kept confidential. Having a simple, intuitive, system that allows us to assign confidentiality protections or redact sensitive information will be required for successful roll-out,” shared Karl Crowley, Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships Manager at Kingspan IKON Innovation Centre, shared his thoughts on data protection for the Circular Foam Project.

To build trust in the system, partners were educated on how Circularise’s platform works and underwent IT security audits to verify compliance with internal policies and standards. Once approved, partners confidently input sensitive data into the platform for the creation of DPPs and traceability. 

The pilot project extended beyond original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to include suppliers, ensuring sourcing transparency. For example, Covestro supplied foam materials to Unilin, Kingspan, and Electrolux, demonstrating how data could be obtained from upstream suppliers. OEMs defined the required data, and suppliers provided it without compromising sensitive information or IP — an indication of their presence or absence, or compliance with regulatory thresholds could be shared instead of exact amounts of specific substances.

Corrado Cecchini, Global Technology Food Preservation Insulation & Materials Director at Electrolux Italia SpA said, “I believe this tool could be helpful to support the definition of supply agreements with service companies working on collection and recycling of industrial scraps and of appliances at the end of life. Thanks to the traceability we could provide more details on the materials used and their mass.”

The Circular Foam Project also highlighted varying data requirements across industries and showed how it aided in regulatory compliance. In the appliance sector, compliance with food safety regulations is critical for products like refrigerators, which store food. In contrast, the construction industry prioritises mechanical properties and standardised dismantling guidelines to manage waste and ensure safety. Despite these differences, there were shared priorities, such as compliance with regulations like REACH and monitoring specific substances like pentane and CMRs.

The DPPs streamlined supplier communication, eliminating the need for lengthy email exchanges or outdated data, and optimised downstream processes by addressing challenges in resource recovery. This collaborative approach demonstrated how DPPs can bridge data gaps, enhance traceability, and support diverse industries in advancing their sustainability goals. 

What are public digital product passports (pDPPs)?

Digital product passports (DPPs) facilitate data sharing within value chains, enabling stakeholders to securely exchange sensitive information. But what about those outside the value chain, such as recyclers, regulators, or individual consumers? How can they access relevant information, like details about a refrigerator with recycled content and improved sustainability?

To address these needs, Circularise offers a platform that transforms DPP data into user-friendly, mobile-first web pages. These public-facing DPPs or public DPPs (pDPPs) can be accessed via API or through the Cir.cu platform through a browser interface. The platform also includes features like Google Analytics integration, allowing clients to track engagement and insights.

Circularise’s clients control what data is shared publicly on these pages. For instance, they can publish sustainability metrics, dimensions, user instructions, regulatory compliance details, and other key product information. 

This public version is invaluable not only for consumers but also for recyclers and other end-of-life (EoL) operators who are not directly connected to the OEM’s DPP network. By accessing this data, EoL operators can optimise disassembly processes, recover resources efficiently, and decide on the best reuse, repair, or recycling methods. Recyclers, for instance, can choose the most effective recycling route based on the product’s chemical composition, condition, and current market demand.

How pDPPs share data with consumers

The public DPPs bridge the information gap to further empower consumers with sustainability data, accessible just by scanning a product’s QR code – fulfilling yet another requirement of the ESPR. While EoL operators gain insights to enable better sorting and recovery, consumers can make more informed purchasing decisions based on verified sustainability data about products and their components.

To make this possible, partners carefully selected the data to be shared publicly, taking into account the needs of consumers and downstream actors, as well as their internal goals for marketing and public relations. 

Take a look at the pDPPs for the products or scan the QR codes below:

• Electrolux refrigerator door

• Unilin insulation board

• Kingspan metal panel 

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pDPPs are accessible online by default, but while some partners chose to make pDPPs unrestricted for maximum accessibility, Circularise also offers password-protected options. The platform’s flexibility allows companies to control access, sharing specific data with authorised stakeholders such as auditors, regulators, or strategic partners without exposing it to competitors.

With this multi-tiered approach, different stakeholders can be granted tailored access levels, ensuring they receive the precise information they need. This flexibility strengthens transparency, facilitates compliance, and supports collaboration across the value chain while safeguarding critical business data.

Conclusion

The journey toward a more sustainable and circular economy requires collaboration, innovation, and transparency. Polyurethane (PU) foam, a material with countless applications but significant environmental challenges, exemplifies the need for transformative approaches to recycling and resource management. 

Digital product passports (DPPs) offer an effective solution that enables seamless tracking of materials across their lifecycle, empowering manufacturers, recyclers, and consumers to make informed decisions, and driving compliance with critical sustainability regulations.

The Circular Foam project demonstrates how DPPs can turn challenges into opportunities, creating ways for efficient recycling, sustainable sourcing, and enhanced product traceability. This work not only transforms PU foam recycling but also sets a blueprint for other industries and companies to adopt circular practices, demonstrating how digital traceability can drive systemic change across value chains. 

As industries, policymakers, and consumers unite around these goals, DPPs will play a pivotal role in achieving a future where materials like PU foam are not only functional but also sustainable. Wide scale, cross-industry collaboration is required to close the loop on waste, foster resilient value chains, and build a circular economy that benefits both people and the planet.