Coffee machine incorporates recycled plastic components

Sirmax Group, one of the world’s leading producers of thermoplastic granules across a wide range of industrial sectors, has collaborated with the De’ Longhi Group, the Treviso-based multinational active in the small domestic appliances industry, on the development of the aesthetic and structural components of the new Eletta Ultra coffee machine. The machine integrates innovative materials containing up to 70% recycled plastic, combining high technical performance with sustainability. For De’ Longhi, the Eletta Ultra represents the cutting edge of super-automatic coffee machine technology, designed to combine the excellence of Italian espresso with an increasingly responsible industrial vision. Thanks to an intuitive user interface and state-of-the-art extraction systems, the machine offers full customisation, allowing effortless preparation of coffee-based drinks and both hot and cold milk-based beverages.

Sirmax’s innovation lies primarily in the extensive use of circular “closed-loop” raw materials derived from post-consumer domestic WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) streams for non-food-contact aesthetic components, with a variety of surface finishes. Many coffee machine components are manufactured using the Green Isoter compound, a plastic material composed of 70% recycled ABS sourced from end-of-life electronic components. Sirmax developed the material to meet De’ Longhi’s specific requirements, including application on both matte and glossy surfaces, aesthetic consistency with other materials already in use, and material stability to ensure consistent moulding parameters over time. For other technical structural components, Sirmax has developed solutions offering high mechanical and thermal resistance, utilising recycled materials in varying proportions and polymer resins.

“Our collaboration with De’ Longhi demonstrates our ability to provide innovative, high-performance, and sustainable materials for the most demanding projects, in line with the investments our Group has made in customised material design under the principles of the circular economy,” commented Massimo Pavin, Chairman and CEO of Sirmax Group. “This project proves, in particular, that high proportions of post-consumer closed-loop plastic from WEEE streams can be used in high-value, aesthetic applications while maintaining the required technical properties. Achieving this is no small feat, and it represents an area where we have made significant advancements and on which we are strongly focused.”

The coffee machine resulting from the Sirmax–De’ Longhi partnership will be presented to the public at PRSE (Plastics Recycling Show Europe) 2026, scheduled for 5–6 May in Amsterdam. It is among the five finalists in the Automotive, Electrical or Electronic Product of the Year category of the PRSE Award, recognising achievements in recycled material usage, product design, and manufacturing.