Circularity wins: Our recycled plastic fridge inner liner scoops top award

Electrolux Group has won the leading European Plastic Recycling Award for “Automotive, Electrical or Electronic Product of the Year 2023” for its refrigerator inner liner with recycled plastic.

The inner liners are made from 70% recycled plastic, which equates to 13% of the total plastic used in the Electrolux and AEG branded refrigerator. Electrolux Group was the first in the world to incorporate this amount of recycled plastic into a refrigerator in an important industry breakthrough.

“What makes this win special is the collaboration and partnerships behind it to turn the challenges of working with recycled plastics into an opportunity to shape a more circular future and desirable sustainable experiences,” says Janina Hihnala, Design Director, Head of Global Food Preservation Design at Electrolux Group.

Partnering on circularity

The inner liner with recycled plastic was developed together with Electrolux Group partner CoolRec Plastics, which is one of the largest recyclers of waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) plastics in Europe. CoolRec helps  to recover recycled plastics from discarded fridges and incorporate them into new products.

“We are immensely proud to win this prestigious award! For years, we have invested in research, people and machines together with Electrolux Group to develop and make this more sustainable refrigerator liner a reality,” says Maurice Geelen, Managing Director at Coolrec. “Today it all comes together, and this award is really the icing on the cake for us. This achievement is yet more proof of our daily commitment to continuously contribute to the creation of a circular economy in which waste no longer exists.”

Electrolux Group has also worked together with partner EcolStudio to develop techniques to allow the reuse of plastics in the manufacturing of new products. By incorporating recycled plastics into products, circularity is promoted by reducing plastic waste and the need to source virgin plastics.

The Plastics Recycling Awards Europe is the largest of its kind in Europe. It provides insight into the latest developments in recycling, the use of recycled materials, product design and innovative manufacturing. The Plastics Recycling Awards Europe 2023 ceremony took place on May 11 in Amsterdam. Rose Vanhecke, Sustainability Senior Manager Europe, received the award on behalf of Electrolux Group.

Read more about our fridge inner liners with recycled plastic.

Main image from left to right: Ramon Bongers – Manager Plastics at Coolrec, Tom Caris – Manager Business Development at Coolrec, Rose Vanhecke – Sustainability Senior Sustainability Manager at Electrolux Group BA Europe, Maurice Geelen – Managing Director at Coolrec.