The unique properties of plastic mean that it can play an important role on the way to a more sustainable, circular and resource-efficient future. At the same time, plastic has gained a large global use in society and has come to symbolize the wear and tear of the consumer society as it is often used in short-lived products that are produced in large volumes and then thrown away. The development of various types of plastic has so far been based on desired material properties without thinking about future needs for recycling or reuse. Material recycling of plastic is low today. The big fundamental problem is that there is a large variety of different plastics, all with different combinations of additives – all to give the specific plastic the desired properties, for example, with regard to hardness, colour, fire propensity and quality. As there are such large quantities of different types of plastic that all have different quality, this leads to several problems with the possibility of material recycling and disposal of recycled raw material.Starting from design and with a focus on thermoplastics, this research has studied whether it would be possible to replace the large number of different thermoplastic variants with a smaller number that have higher performance and clear specific properties. This also includes studying the problem with coloured plastic. A smaller number of plastic variants, with higher performance and clear characteristics, is assumed to provide several benefits, for example easier logistics and separation, higher volumes of plastic that can be recycled and increased recycling value, which together are expected to provide environmental benefits and economic gains for the actors involved in the recycling.The aim of this paper is to investigate the attitude of the players in the plastics industry toward the possibility of reducing the number of variants of thermoplastics. To achieve the aim, literature studies and an interview study with a subsequent workshop have been carried out. Within the interview study, 63 respondents in the plastics industry in Sweden were interviewed, ranging from manufacturers of thermoplastics and thermoplastic products, buyers, sellers, trade associations, and recycling companies to researchers and experts. The results show that a reduced number of thermoplastics would result in higher volumes of base plastics for those who recycle plastics, allowing them to sell larger volumes of more consistent, higher-quality recycled plastics at a lower price. This would, in turn, lead to higher-quality recycling, as it should also be easier to collect and sort the plastics. In addition, financial benefits can also be obtained throughout the value chain. Challenges that have been highlighted include that both producers and consumers of thermoplastic products have high expectations for the quality of the thermoplastic. If producers and consumers can accept the quality that future recycled thermoplastics provide, it increases the possibilities for more recycled thermoplastics to be used in society.The results also show that it is possible to make a natural reduction in the number of thermoplastic variants within the plastics industry, but that this needs to be supplemented with the introduction of new laws and standards to achieve the potential environmental and economic benefits that a reduction in the number of thermoplastics can bring.