Audi is making bits of the Q8 e-tron’s seatbelt buckles from old plastic grilles

Audi has announced that it is making the plastic covers for the seatbelt buckles in its new Q8 e-tron from old plastic grilles, and if we’re honest the jokes write themselves here.

Yep, broken plastic bits will be sourced from Audi’s dealer network, before being relieved of their metal clips (and in the case of a grille – their four rings badging). The plastics are then broken into smaller bits (presumably this is a very time-consuming job if you’re having to take apart the front of an RSQ8) before they are chemically-recycled into something called pyrolysis oil.

Said oil is then used as the raw material to make tiny plastic granulate bits, and those bits make up at least 70 per cent of the material used in a new seatbelt buckle cover for a Q8 e-tron. Phewf.

Audi calls this the ‘PlasticLoop project’ and it’s taking it on in collaboration with a company called LyondellBasell. They do expect to get a fair bit of material from it too – with enough pyrolysis oil expected to complete the whole production run of Q8 e-trons across that car’s lifetime. 

Thoughts, Internet?