LIFE GREEN COMPOSITE

Project co-funded by the European Unione LIFE21-ENV-IT-LIFE GREEN COMPOSITE
PROJECT DURATION: Start 01/08/22 - End 31/07/25
Coordinating Beneficiary: DELTA Srl
Associated Beneficiary: GEES RECYCLING Srl
Project location: Montelupone - Montecassiano (Macerata / Pordenone) Italy

On 1 August 2022 Delta of Plados Telma group started the LIFE project in cooperationone with Gees Recycling, a project co-funded at 60% by the European Commission.
The project will run for three years, ending on 31 July 2025.

Producing green composite sinks and worktops by reusing offcuts and production wasteone of Delta sinks

The productionone of sinks involves the landfilling of large quantities of polymer-contaminated mineral waste. This project aims to demonstrate that mineral composite sinks can be produced on a pilot and industrial scale by reusing acrylic mineral composite waste and producing these composites from secondary raw materials. The process, which will include new products, should confirm that all sink waste can be recycled. We will promote our GREEN composites production line to consumers and introduce a new product range to the market.

Project contact: Dr. Maria Savina Pianesi e-mail: savina.pianesi@pladostelma.com

Delta presents the Life GREEN COMPOSITE project
to the 2022 beneficiaries of the LIFE programme!

YouTube video player

You can download the Powerpoint of presentazione.

Project Objective

New green composites: GREEN WORKTOP and GREEN KITCHEN SINKS

The project will exploit the industrial symbiosis between Plados Telma (Coordinator) and Gees Recycling to produce green kitchen sinks and worktops: acrylic mineral composites made from recycled production waste and tracked in a replicable circular value chain

How the Project Objective will be Achieved

Grinding one composite sink waste and scraps and production GREEN

Using new milling and coating technologies, new product design and pre-polymerisation, new product design and pre-polymerisation, reuse of production waste from these sinks to improve the performance of recycled composite tops and panels.

WORK PACKAGE defined to achieve objectives:

Work Package NoWork Package nameLead Beneficiary 
WP1 Project management and coordination 1-DELTA SRL
WP2Recovery of mineral materials from waste sinks and preparation of secondary raw materials1 - DELTA SRL
WP3 Development of green kitchen tops that include recovered Delta sinks waste2 - GEES 
WP4 Development of green sinks: new formulations, moulding trials and characterisation of end products1 - DELTA SRL
WP5 Communication and Dissemination of results, networking1 - DELTA SRL 
WP6 Sustainability, Replication and Exploitation of Results1 - DELTA SRL 
WP7 Performance indicators and impact monitoring and evaluation1 - DELTA SRL

Pilot and industrial scale trials will be conducted by recovering mineral materials from waste sinks, which will become secondary raw materials to develop green kitchen countertops and green sinks.

New Industrial Plants

A new milling plant will be set up, which will carry out the volumetric reduction of offcuts and rejects from sinks to obtain the secondary raw material.

A green plant will be installed, consisting of a recovery resin storage tank and reactors for convertingone the recovery resin into recovery syrup.

Recovery charges for new dispersions (r-quartz and r-granulates)

Innovations

DELTA: New formulations with secondary raw materials, obtaining GREEN sinks;
GEES: New work tops with GREEN formulas using secondary raw materials;
Gees is pursuing the mechanical recycling of high-density composites. Initial tests were carried out on the following composizione:
? 75% of r-granulates (ground DELTA composite sinks);
? 20% of glass fibre waste;
? 5% of bonding agent.

The density of the first campione GREEN No. 1 panel is 1250 kg/m3

Initial tests are showing good fire behaviour potential of recycled composites. The first GREEN fieldsone panel No. 1 showed no dripping, no post-combustionone and no perforationone after 2 minutes of feedingone a propane flame at a distance of 10 cm

First Gees panel
GEES panel during and after fire test

Impacts

Recycling the 100% of waste and scrap from the Plados Telma group to enable the productionone and commercialisationone of a green sink production line made entirely from recycled materials.

Launching both solid-colour and granite-effect composite worktops on the market with a new concept productone with improved performance, made entirely from recycled materials.

LIFE21-ENV-IT-LIFE GREEN COMPOSITE

Delta Management Ltd. of the Plados Telma Group
Team Delta Ltd. of the Plados Telma Group

Interviews on recovery and circular economy

https://lnkd.in/dDbmCzzv

https://lnkd.in/eMJjijF2

Downloadable material

Life Green Composite project poster

Life Green Composite Project Brochure

Life Green Composite Project News

The project officially starts after the Grant Agreement is signed by Plados Delta and the European Comissione at the end of July 2022

From 18 to 21 October 2022, Plados Telma participated as an exhibitor at the SICAM trade fair in Pordenone (Italy).
The LIFE GREEN COMPOSITE team took the opportunity one to present to the market and its customers a first prototype of 100% green sinks, in the colour WHITE, not yet aesthetically perfect, but made from recycled raw materials, from resin to mineral filler. This prototype is one of the sinks produced during the moulding trials that showed the best results for sinks in this colour. In the coming weeks and months, the project team will focus on producing one more colours and perfecting the white sinks. Visitors to the stand were very interested in the quality of the sinks made from recycled materials, as well as the difficulties they encountered in finding them. They also asked informaions about the colours that will be available in addition to the white presented, and were curious as to whether the cost would be much higher than that of sinks made from virgin raw materials.
On the one hand, this trade fair confirms the reputation now acquired by the Plados Telma brand, which has sales partners in 60 countries on five continents, and on the other, it confirms the market's interest in the new green sinks.

The SICAM trade fair in Pordenone (Italy) was attended by 10,000 companies from 120 countries. The Plados Telma stand was visited by 2,000 visitors, kitchen accessories distributors, kitchen manufacturers, trade intermediaries, suppliers, designers. 300 new contacts were generated from around 30 countries.

Presented the official logo of the Life Green Composite project!

The Life Green Composite project brochure has been created. It contains a graphic representation of the project structure that follows the principles of the circular economy, immediately attractingone attention.

Project Notice Board posted at the main entrance of the Delta site in Montecassiano (MC) and Montelupone (MC) and at the main entrance of the GEES site in Aviano (PN). The Notice Board shows the key informaions of the project in a visually attractive graphic, which emphasises the circular economy structure of the project activities.

Picchio News published a press release on the LIFE GREEN COMPOSITE project 'The Plados-Delta group will be the first company in the world to produce a range of 'green' sinks'

https://picchionews.it/curiosita/il-gruppo-plados-delta-sara-la-prima-azienda-al-mondo-a-produrre-una-gamma-di-lavelli-green?fbclid=IwAR0VrM1g-WPRAKN32GUxz8Pd9yJsYf80YQNHBU939x3_Dye3RnTk_LOYGJQ#

A press release on the LIFE GREEN COMPOSITE project published in Cronache Maceratesi "The first 'green' kitchen sink is born in the Macerata area'.

First EU monitor meeting in Delta Plados.

https://www.innoradar.eu/innovation/49301

Visit of a delegation one Delta to the company HP Composites S.p.A. for a mutual acquaintance and synergy between 2 companies working in the world of composites.

Present from Delta were Antonio Bugiolacchio, Leonardo Bugiolacchio and Maria Savina Pianesi; from HP Composites Vincenzo Castorani.

Delta presented the LIFE GREEN COMPOSITE project: eco-friendly kitchen sinks and worktops: harnessing industrial symbiosis to produce acrylic mineral composites from recycled and traced production waste in a replicable circular value chain.

The objectives of the project were described, i.e. to make new green sinks from external and internal production waste, suitably ground, coated and combined with a new acrylic resin from converted monomer, as well as to make worktop panels with improved performance by recycling production waste from sinks.

HP Composites told us about the three projects the company is currently in charge of.

The first LIFE CIRCE - CIRcular economy model for Carbon Fibre Prepregs (https://www.life-circe.eu/) is closing in April 2023. CIRCE is a circular economy project set up to develop a new recovery system for industrial waste from carbon fibre prepregs. The main objective is to establish a circular economy model for uncured waste.

The second project called LIFE VIABLE - Valorizazione of lignin biomass in competitive compones gradually replacing BPA in the formulation of epoxy resins (https://www.life-viable.eu/) started in 2021 and will end in 2025. The project aims to improve the sustainability and environmental impact of the production of epoxy resins by reducing the BPA content in the formulation of epoxy resins from 20 to 50one through lignin biomass.

The third and last called PLOOTO - Product Passport through Twinning of Circular Value Chains (https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101092008) has just started and will last until 2025. Plooto aims to provide a circular and resilient informative system (CRIS) to support manufacturers in their green, digital and circular transition. CRIS enables waste reduction and end-to-end traceability of secondary raw materials (SRM) through interconnected digital services for real-time decision-making, monitoring and certification of materials and products. It is funded by the Horizon Europe programme.

The same common problems related to material waste, the difficulty of recovering such heterogeneous materials, and the high cost of disposing of them.

There was a very interesting visit to the production departments, where racing car bodies and automotive facilities are produced.

We promised to discuss again to define the possibility of solving common problems and as the first meeting in the MARLIC project progress meetingone planned for June 2023 where HP is the lead partner of more than 20 partners, Delta will present the LIFE GREEN COMPOSITE project to all.

Plados Telma participated as an exhibitor at the Interzum trade fair in Cologne from 9 to 12 May 2023.
It met and showed its customers the first recycled sink prototype in the colour WHITE, obtained from the one experiment financed by the LIFE GREEN COMPOSITE project. Plados Telma has commercial partners in 60 countries on 5 continents; many of these visited the stand and were able to touch the new product proposed under the trade name ?Rinnova?

The Interzum exhibition had 1,400 exhibitors, was visited by 74,000 visitors from 152 countries and had an exhibition area of 190,000 m2. The Plados Telma stand had around 1,500 visitors and generated 150 new contacts from around 40 countries. During the fair, the Plados Telma sales team met a selected number of new contacts, presented the LIFE GREEN COMPOSITE project to them and handed them project flyers and small samples of sink surfaces in white and beige. Seven retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers from various countries (in addition to Europe, also Mexico, Mongolia,
UK and Albania) were very interested and asked to be kept up-to-date on product development, indicating their intentionone to introduce the new products in their catalogues once they are commercially available.

At the end of the progress meetingone of the regional project MARLIC (acronym for Marche Applied Research Laboratory for Innovative Composites), a regional collaborative flatforma on the topics of sustainable manufacturing, eco-sustainability, processes for new composite materials and de-manufacturing, on 01-June 2023 Dr. Pianesi, R&D Manager of the Delta company and de-manufacturing project leader, presented the new LIFE GREEN COMPOSITE project to all project partners: HP Composite, Simeg Marmi, Simeg Fratelli Marmi and the project leader.ssa Pianesi, R&D Manager of the Delta company and leader of the de-manufacturing project, presented the new LIFE GREEN COMPOSITE project to all the project partners: HP Composite, Simeg Marmi, Fratelli Guzzini, Simonelli group, Mailas, Eta, and to the entities Universitร  Politecnica delle Marche, Universitร  degli studi di Camerino, Universitร  degli studi di Urbino, CNR, Enea.
The main interest focused on the possibility of being able to use this composite recovery across the board in other applications, especially in the world of composite racing car structures.

At SICAM 2023, the International Trade Fair of Componenents, Accessories and Semi-finished Products for the Furniture Industry, you will find all the latest news and market trends for future collections of furniture, kitchens, bathrooms, contract and interior design. From 17 to 20 October rinnova the appointment with the international fair, now in its 14th edione with over 18 thousand net square metres and 650 exhibitors.
Delta of the Plados Telma Group, winner of the LIFE GREEN COMPOSITE project, presented the first prototype sinks in white, beige and grey. The prototype sinks made from recycled raw materials have been a resounding success. We hope to extend these results to the production of a new green range as soon as possible.
The SICAM fair had 650 exhibitors, 8,900 visitors and an exhibition area of 18,000 m2.
The Plados Telma stand at the SICAM 2023 exhibition had about 1500 visitors and generated 150 new contacts from about 40 countries. During the fair, the Plados Telma sales team met about 50 customers, presented the LIFE GREEN COMPOSITE project to them and handed them project flyers and small samples of sink surfaces in white and beige. Around 35 customers, including traditional Italian customers such as ARREDO 3, SCAVOLINI / ERNESTO MEDA, CEDI and other customers from various EU countries and the Middle East, asked to be informaed about product developments and indicated their intentionone to include the new products in their catalogues once they are commercially available.

Delta's new composite sink waste and scrap milling system has been launched. From today it will be possible to recover all material and no longer send it to landfill!

First electron microscope photos of the milk-white sink ground by our newly started-up frazione r-quartz r-quartz system. Image: photomicrograph of the 0.1 mm frazione r-quartz white

First tests of millingone waste and rejects from white sinks in our new milling systemone. Image: Fieldsone r-quartz in different grain sizes white Delta

Article 'MARLIC LIFE GREEN COMPOSITE' of 06/03/24 in the Green and Blue insert of the newspaper 'La Repubblica'.

Publicationone of the video 'Life Green Composite - Rinnova':

Second EU monitor meeting in Delta Plados the brilliant results achieved, the installation of the green plant and the grinding plant were shown to the EU monitor and the next steps were discussed.

The LIFE GREEN COMPOSITE project was presented at the CHIP Department of Chemical Sciences in Camerino during the 4th Chemistry Graduates' Meeting Day.

Delta S.r.l. of the Plados Telma Group is preparing the Seminar of the European project LIFE GREEN COMPOSITE that will be held on the morning of Tuesday, 8 October 2024, starting at 09:15 a.m. in the press room of the ChIP of the University of Camerino.
Professionals and experts will participate and present their experience and results of the project in order to stimulate a dialogue with the industrial world active in the composites sector and on the topic of green recovery. The morning programme is attached.

Seminar Circular Economy for Ecological Composite 2024

The seminar of the LIFE GREEN COMPOSITE project, organised by Delta Plados Telma and Gees Recycling, at the University of Camerino UNICAM was an opportunity to compare and discussone sustainability approaches in the field of composite materials. 

Interesting insights and complex experiences shared to achieve a common result: the reduction of waste sent to landfill. We would particularly like to thank all the speakers for their valuable contributions and all the guests who spoke.

Exposureone of the products at the SICAM trade fair in Pordenone and incredible customer interest in the materials studied in the LIFE GREEN COMPOSITE project.

Kitchen exhibition stand with modern sinks
Discussone in showroom of kitchens with sink.

Nella giornata del 6 Novembre 2024 vi è stata la presentazione ad Ecomondo del progetto LIFE GREEN COMPOSITE da parte di Delta srl del gruppo Plados Telma con relatrice Maria Savina Pianesi e Giorgio Betteto della GEES RECYCLING. Nella sala Mimosa della sezione di ECOMONDO ?Sostenere la transizione delle aree industriali e delle brown areas italiane in parchi eco industriali e l?implementazione della simbiosi industriale come strumento di routine gestionale per le aziende? Delta ha descritto la transizione green e la simbiosi industriale che sta avvenendo tra Gees e Delta. La vasta platea presente ha partecipato e seguito con attenzione al seminario, intervenendo con richiesta di dettagli e domande.

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