Project Information Sheet
Innovative recycled plastic based panels for building field (ECOPLASBRICK)
Programme area:
Mixed plastic waste recycling
Coordinator:
Alessandro Marseglia
CETMA, CENTRO DI PROGETTAZIONE, DESIGN E TECNOLOGIE
DEI MATERIALI, ITALY
E-mail: alessandro.marseglia@cetma.it
Tel: +39 0831 449411/416
Centro di Progettazione, Design e Tecnologie dei Materiali, Italy
Consorzio TRE, Italy
Pandora Group, Italy
Motulab s.r.l., Italy
Acciona Infraestructuras S.A., Spain
Albanian Constructors Association, Albania
under construction
Partners:
Website:
Benefits
(max. 150
characters incl.
space):
Reduction of mixed plastic waste destined to landfill or incineration.
Production of eco-sustainable products for building field.
Keywords:
Recycling; mixed plastic waste ; sandwich panel; ventilated facades;
elevated floors;
E38.3.2 - Recovery of sorted materials
Product/process: innovative recycled plastic based sandwich panel for
ventilated facades, elevated floors etc
Sector:
Type of solution
Duration:
Budget:
Contract number:
01/07/2011 – 30/06/2014
€ 1.832.066 (EU contribution: 50%)
ECO/10/277233/SI2.596954
Summary
The low compatibility of the different polymers present in mixed plastic waste and the contamination by nonpolymeric materials result in poor mechanical and aesthetical properties. For this reason mixed plastic waste are in
large part sent to landfill or energy recovery.
The innovative idea promoted by this project, is to use mixed plastic waste as the core of a sandwich panel with
a gres face-sheet (skins) on both sides. The advantages of such a panel are clear: the aesthetical impact is good
because the plastic waste component is hidden between two skins, and its mechanical bending properties are
determined only by the skin material and the panel thickness (and not influenced by the recycled plastic core). The
production process foresees only a rough grinding of plastic waste no use of adhesive, no use of charges.
Within the project, an innovative industrial line for panels manufacturing will be purchased and installed to produce
pre series for product validation and for the building up of demonstrators to be used for exploitation and market
replication strategies. Innovative elevated floors and ventilated facades using the ECOPLASBRICK panel will be
designed and validated in view of large-scale production. Life cycle assessment of the new products will be carried
out.
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Expected and/or achieved results
The innovative recycled plastic sandwich panel, promoted by this project, increases the possibility of using the
heterogeneous plastic waste as raw material for new products, and will stimulate the mechanical recycling of such
materials.
The major expected results are:
1. A reduction in the volume of unsorted plastic wastes destined to landfill, incineration or energy recovery
and a corresponding increase in the volume sent to mechanical recycling.
2. Production of quality products with less impact on the environment, making available to building markets,
12 months before the end of the project, the ECOPLASBRICK eco-sustainable and environmentally
friendly recycled products with enhanced mechanical and aesthetical properties.
3. Creation of partnerships among European industries not participating in this project, involving:
 other European plastic converter, besides Motulab, able to produce the recycled panels using the
technology promoted by the project;
 other European building contractors, besides Acciona, using the innovative panel for elevated
floors and ventilated facades.
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