2023-08-11 06:40:47
What to do with our everyday objects at the end of their life? For the young company Module Carré, the answer is simple: floor coverings. Thanks to a low-chemical process, it guarantees a new life for our waste.
In 2018, Giovanni Belloni and Nicolas Brutin created the company Module Carré, which achieved a turnover of 2.2 million euros in 2022. With four employees and located in Orléans, the objective of the young company is to provide floor coverings made from recycled plastic materials. “We want to develop recycled materials. We already make PVC and rubber from used tires. These coatings are used in sports halls, indoors or outdoors. We also offer recycled polypropylene floors for swimming pools, for example.”explains Giovanni Belloni, co-founder and commercial director of Module Carré.
Polystyrene as decoration
In 2020, the partners want to push their concept further. They then contacted The Good Plastic Company, which recovers polystyrene waste such as fridge doors, computer keyboards or household appliances, which would otherwise be buried or incinerated, to make plastic pellets. “Once these plastics are crushed, we thermocompress them to make large plates. No additives are used, be it dyes or glues », says Giovanni Belloni. This rigid material, called Polygood, can be painted, engraved, drilled or cut like a wooden panel, which it can also replace. The co-founder adds: “We work a lot with architects and space designers. Our signs have been used by Nike for their displays and clothing recycling bins or by Adidas to highlight their products. We also sometimes collaborate with individuals when they want to create a kitchen worktop, for example ». These plates do not contain volatile organic compounds (VOC). The Polygood range comes in two categories, “classic” and “basic”, which ensure repeatability of the decors. But the company has a multitude of sources of polystyrene waste, which allows it to adapt to customer demand and create tailor-made decorations while dispensing with dyes.
These panels sell for between €100 and €200 excluding tax per square meter. “At the moment we are not in large-scale production, because we need more volumes. But eventually, we want to move to prices around €60 per square meter.”, develops the co-founder. In a circular economy approach, Module Carré also reintegrates its waste into its production.
Develop recycling
In 2022, Module Carré made it possible to recycle 750 tons of waste, which is equivalent to a production of approximately 1,000 panels per year. And the company does not intend to stop there. In particular, it is developing its partnership with The Good Plastic Company. In May 2023, Module Carré became the French subsidiary of the group. “We take care of promoting, stocking and distributing Polygood”, says Giovanni Belloni. The next step for the partners is to create polystyrene flooring.
At the same time, Module Carré has set up a program to take back and recycle the offcuts of its customers’ panels to transform them into new sheets. “The next step for us is to focus on fireproofing by using other recycled plastics or natural materials, always with a view to adding nothing to our panels”, adds Giovanni Belloni. For now, the panels of the group are coated with a thin layer of varnish which allows maximum fire resistance (M2) and which maintains the 100% recyclability of Polygood.
And the co-founder concludes: “We fully believe in our process, in the circular economy and in the new sources of materials that will become essential with global warming”.
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