PolyCE partners recognised at Plastics Recycling Show Europe

On December 11th, PolyCE partner Philips won the “Product of the Year” award at the Plastics Recycling Show Europe for their Senseo Viva Café Eco coffee machine. This is the first Philips product made entirely out of recycled plastics.

The product has been developed within the European research project PolyCE and the recycled materials are co-developed with PolyCE partners and Philips suppliers MGG Polymers and Sitraplas. The quality of the circular recycled plastics is as good as virgin plastics and, as the material will become available as a standard recycled plastics grade, it allows us to expand its use in other Philips product categories.

The SENSEO® Viva Café Eco

The judges at the show declared “this product elegantly incorporates elements of impeccable design, sustainable material sourcing and it also raises environmental awareness among consumers with its carefully thought out messaging. With this product, you can enjoy your cup of coffee while being reminded every morning of your sustainable choice.”

“It is a proof that many things are possible with recycled plastics, even in high-end applications. It presents a major step towards our goal of quadrupling the use of recycled plastics by 2025,” Philips’ Sustainability Senior Director Eelco Smith commented.

PolyCE partner, Kim Ragaert from Ghent University was also recognized for her exceptional scientific leadership in the plastics recycling field with the prestigious title “Plastics Recycling Ambassador.”

Kim is a tenured professor at Ghent University, in the domain of Circular Plastics. She is a polymer processing engineer by education and has dedicated her multidisciplinary research group to the improved mechanical recycling of thermoplastics.

“This shows how it is necessary for scientists/academics to get involved and how much can be achieved when they do,” Ms Ragaert commented.

PolyCE partners from Pezy Group (Thijs Feenstra) and Roberta Bernasconi (Whirlpool) participated at the expert panels of the conference.

Ms Bernasconi provided insight on the main challenges for the white goods sector when using recycled plastics during an expert panel.

Pezy Group’s main message to participants was the following: “Every plastic grade has its own specific properties that are translated into a certain application behaviour. This counts for virgin plastics and just as much for recycled plastics. Therefor Pezy Group considers recycled plastics as new materials that need to be discovered before knowing the performance in a certain application.”

The Plastics Recycling Show Europe (PRSE) is the annual exhibition and conference for plastics recycling professionals. It brings together key players from the plastics and recycling sectors to learn, network and capitalise on the business opportunities plastic recycling offers. The annual event is organised by Crain Communications and Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE).

To read more about the awarded organisations, visit PRSE’s website here.