BMW’s plastic crusade
BMW is helping to accelerate the drive to rid the seas of discarded plastic — by recycling it for use in its own vehicles. The premium German marque, with factories in Britain, says that reclaimed plastic from the world’s oceans can be made into exterior panels and interior parts for its latest and greenest cars.
The company said it welcomed the Mail’s award-winning Turn The Tide On Plastic campaign to reduce the amount of plastic finding its way into the sea.
BMW’s move came as the World Health Organisation announced a probe into the harmful effects of micro-plastics entering the food chain after scientists revealed how they were found in 90 per cent of popular brands of bottled water.
Test bed for BMW’s research is the firm’s newest ‘green’ car, the electric-powered i3.
A spokesman said: ‘ The seas are filling up with plastic and we have to find a solution.’
BMW believes the cost of removing plastic waste from the e oceans could be mitigated if the e recovered plastic could be e recycled and sold on for use by y firms such as themselves to o make lightweight car parts. So it t is working on creating a market t for reclaimed sea plastic by finding - uses for it in its own cars.
As a visual statement of intent t it has covered half of an i3 in n broken-down sea plastic.
‘More than 80 per cent of the i3s’s surfaces visible to passengers are made from m recycled materials or renewable e resources,’ says the company. ‘It t is great news that a newspaper r like the Mail is also taking this s very seriously. It is a problem m which we have to solve.’
The new, all- electric, zeroemissions i3s is powered by a 184 bhp electric motor linked to a high-voltage lithium-ion battery, sprints from rest to 62 mph in 6.9 6 seconds, has a top speed of 99 mph, a claimed range of 174 miles and costs £36,975.
It is the sportier version of the standard i3 electric car costing from £34,070. Range- extender versions of both, using a 38 bhp two-cylinder engine to generate more electric power, will add about 90 miles to the range.
Home fast- charging will give enough power for a 112-mile journey in less than three hours.