LIFE GREEN COMPOSITE

NEW LIFE GREEN COMPOSITE project fiche

LIFE Green Composite tackles the environmental challenges posed by composite kitchen sink production, a sector that generates significant mineral waste contaminated with polymers. The project demonstrates a pilot and industrial-scale circular solution that recovers production waste and reuses it as secondary raw materials for manufacturing new composite sinks, panels and worktops. 

Composite kitchen sinks are manufactured from mineral powders and resins that undergo complex chemical and physical transformations during moulding. This process is technically challenging, generates high levels of production waste, and relies heavily on virgin raw materials with substantial environmental footprints. Before LIFE Green Composite, composite sink waste was difficult to recycle at scale, often leading to disposal rather than reuse. The project addresses the need for industrial, scalable circular solutions that reduce waste generation, decrease reliance on virgin materials, and lower the environmental impacts associated with composite manufacturing. 

LIFE GREEN COMPOSITE’s objectives: 

LIFE Green Composite aims to demonstrate and implement industrial-scale circular manufacturing by: 

• Recycling all annual production waste from composite sink manufacturing, including internal offcuts and external sources.
• Producing sinks and countertop panels made entirely from recycled secondary raw materials.
• Establishing a grinding and processing plant to prepare secondary raw materials (e.g. r-acrylic syrup, recycled fillers) with reduced environmental impact.
• Promoting industrial symbiosis between project partner companies Delta, a manufacturer of composite kitchen sinks, and GEES Recycling, a recycling company specialising in the recovery and processing of composite materials, to ensure a replicable circular value chain.
• Delivering recycled products to market with improved performance and aesthetics (e.g., solid colours, granite effects).
• Enable the production and market entry of kitchen sinks made entirely from recycled materials. 

Expected results:  

• Recycling of all annual waste from composite sink production, both internal and external.
• 100% recycled kitchen sinks and worktops delivered to market.
• Reduced reliance on virgin minerals and fossil-based material.
• Successful market launch of green composite products with enhanced performance and solid colour options.
• Industrial symbiosis model replicated across sectors with high composite waste.
• Entry into international markets, including Europe, USA, China, and Australia 

Quote from the Coordinating Beneficiary: 

Savina Pianesi, Project manager

“My experience with C2M was excellent and it helped us in several ways: finding new channels to turn technical results into commercial products, receiving guidance and templates to improve our business plan, identifying potential new applications, such as industrial flooring, and supporting partner mapping and industrial symbiosis opportunities.”