The material is commonly used in soles – in Ecco’s case – but it also used for a wide range of products, with more than 16 million tons used annually, according to Ecco.

There are two parts to the  to RePURpose project:, ReUSE and ReCYCLE. ReUSE focuses on redirecting waste from the manufacturing of PU into new products. ReCYCLE will deconstruct PU from end-of-life products into its original chemical building blocks.

Ecco CEO Steen Borgholm (pictured) said the company felt an obligation to minimise its impact on the environment. “Do we have an alternative to PU for our production? No, we don’t,” he said.

“We are exploring alternatives, but no other material can give our shoes the same characteristics. And even those that come close, do not have a better environmental profile. So instead, we concentrate on what we can influence now and make our knowledge and people available to develop a method to make PU recyclable.” 

Anders Lindhardt from the Danish Technological Institute added that PU poses a significant challenge. 

“Solving the challenge of moving PU into a circular economy will ensure the future of this important material,” he said. “Developing innovative ReUSE and ReCYCLE technologies will not only create monetary value but also unleash completely new business models for our consortium partners. The close collaboration of the dedicated and experienced partners in RePURpose provides the ideal setup to make a real difference for future PU recycling.”