Sony Says PS5 Packaging Is Fully Recyclable

Getting your hands on a PlayStation 5 is quite an achievement at the moment due to such high demand for the console, but you’ll be glad to hear you aren’t adding to the global pile of waste plastic with your purchase. Sony designed the PS5 packaging to be fully recyclable, and it’s almost completely free of plastic and glue.

In a post on the SIE.Blog, Sony explains how in 2020 it established the Green Management 2025 plan in a bid to eliminate plastic packaging from its products by 2025. The PS5 packaging formed part of that plan, and Sony achieved between 93-99% plastic-free packaging for the console (depending on which model you buy). In fact, the only plastic used seems to be for the carry handle and a couple of small bags for the accessories.

Photo: Sony

In designing the packaging, Sony avoided using expanded polystyrene, plastic trays, plastic cable ties, plastic protection bags, and plastic display windows. Instead, we got a cardboard outer box with card inserts and paper pulp cushion trays. The cable ties are made of paper, and bags were simply not used for cables or the instruction manuals. The designers also opted to use folding hanger tabs instead of glue for holding the different parts of the packaging together. The end result is packaging that’s easy to recycle and no part of it needs to be thrown away.

Sony is going a step further this year and turning its attention to physical game cases. Starting in Europe, recycled polypropylene sourced from post-industrial waste will be used to manufacture cases. While they will still be plastic, it means each case is recycling already-available plastic rather than producing even more.