April 11, 2025 15:11

As a result of the Life Green Composite European research project, which is nearing completion, kitchen sink manufacturer Plados Telma has launched the world’s first sink made with more than 90% regenerated raw materials — acrylic resin and mineral fillers — under the Rinnova brand.

These materials are derived from internal and external processing scrap that was previously destined for disposal.

The project, developed in collaboration between Delta (a Plados Telma Group company) and Gees Recycling, which specializes in recycled panels, validated at both pilot and industrial scale a process capable of recycling all production acrylic mineral composite waste from sink manufacturing, creating a fully circular and sustainable closed-loop system.

The grinding and reuse of industrial scrap take place at the Montelupone and Montecassiano facilities, located in the province of Macerata in central Italy.

The scrap, the company explains, is processed using new grinding and coating technologies, then converted into new raw materials via advanced pre-polymerization processes of methyl methacrylate (MMA).

With these recovered materials, Delta produces new sinks, while Gees Recycling manufactures panels for worktops and, in the future, also for other furnishing elements such as shower trays and cabinet doors.

The European kitchen furniture sector consumes more than 21,000 tonnes of raw materials (monomer, polymer and quartz) annually, generating approximately 3,600 tonnes of mineral industrial waste containing polymers — all of which is potentially recoverable.

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