The SILVERSIDA series
For the first time at IKEA, ceramic production waste can get a second life on a large scale. The SILVERSIDA series has pioneered a production method at IKEA that can turn internal factory waste – otherwise destined for disposal – into brand new tableware.
Did you know that most ceramics today are not recycled? Unlike glass or metal, which can be melted back down to make new products – ceramics are highly durable and heat-resistant. This makes it a challenging material to break down when a ceramic product is disposed of.
With IKEA’s aim to use only renewable or recycled materials by 2030, we need to find fresh ways of looking at long-loved materials like ceramics. Can we be more innovative when it comes to ceramic waste? Can we make high-quality products from waste that people will love? And can we achieve all of this on a large scale? The answer, three times over, is yes! And it’s the new SILVERSIDA series that is opening the first door to these new possibilities.
“When it comes to working with ceramic waste, this is really only the starting point,” explains Karin Engquist, who worked as a Product Design Developer on the SILVERSIDA series in the early years of its creation. Bringing this series to IKEA stores has been a long story – one that begins in Romania around four years ago.
“One of our stoneware and porcelain suppliers in Romania came to us with this idea back in 2020, and of course we wanted to support it.”
So, what was the idea? The process of making ceramicware – which includes both porcelain and stoneware products – generates waste along its various steps: from the mixing of raw materials with water, to shaping, firing, glazing, and finally firing once again. And while waste up until the second firing can often be captured and added back into the production flow, being able to use waste after this second firing is where things can get tricky.
This is because the second firing causes changes to the material, strengthening the chemical bonds. The team working on SILVERSIDA, however, wanted to explore this. By taking defective ceramics after the second firing, grinding them down finely and adding them back to the raw material mix in a new recipe, a lot of waste material could be diverted from landfill.
Ceramic waste is captured from the factory's internal production stream to produce the SILVERSIDA series.
Easier said than done? Maybe! “It took several years to develop SILVERSIDA, because creating a good quality product from this waste and making the production flow scalable wasn’t straightforward,” says Karin. She recalls the initial samples, which had a bumpy surface texture that just wasn’t quite right for tableware.
“But with time, and a lot of trial and error, we – together with the supplier – finally managed to come up with a good formulation and create products that we’re really proud of,” she continues. “I think we managed to achieve this good result because we took our time to explore without too much pressure. We also worked closely together in parallel with our supplier – always communicating and finding ways to improve.”
In the end, SILVERSIDA plates and bowls are made up of 65-70% internal factory waste (the remaining 30-35% consisting of virgin raw materials to retain adequate technical properties), with the hope that the formulations and production flows developed for the series will open up future possibilities for recycling post-consumer ceramic material too. In the meantime, reducing the waste produced by factories is a great step in the right direction.
The ceramic waste is crushed and mixed with virgin raw materials into a liquid “slip”, which is turned into granules in a spray dryer.
The dinnerware is shaped, finished, and fired. After that it is glazed and fired again.
Reducing waste generation is a key to reducing our impact on the planet, but designing long-lasting products – both in looks and durability – is also important. Working closely with Karin on the SILVERSIDA series was IKEA in-house designer Henrik Preutz, who was responsible for taking this new recovered material and transforming it into a beautiful, functional addition to any dining table, for years to come.
“Henrik and I have worked together for a long time,” explains Karin, mentioning their earlier collaborations on other tableware series, such as OFTAST and IKEA 365+. “He understands the brief, and then lifts it to new heights that I couldn’t have imagined.”
And for Henrik, creating a great product begins long before he picks up his pencil. “In the case of a series like SILVERSIDA, you already start from the base of a fantastic material with great technical properties and thought behind it. Then I can come in and do the fine tuning to bring these elements together. That’s my contribution.”
Applied by hand, the blue splashes give each piece in the SILVERSIDA series a dynamic and individual expression.
Playing with high sides, soft curves and flat-lipped edges, the overall feeling of the series is one of generosity – which is exactly the kind of food Henrik pictured while designing it. “I imagined a table with these bowls and plates piled high with beautiful dishes. Where the tableware not only shows off the food, but also looks decorative in its own right.”
The finishing touch was the addition of expressive blue splashes, which helps to hide any small flaws in the material, while giving it a playful and contemporary look. “At the same time,” Karin adds, “there’s something about blue and white tableware that feels so classic, that you would want to keep it for a long time.”
Now that the series has hit the shelves at IKEA stores, both Henrik and Karin couldn’t be happier. “For me, seeing the final products was just instant love,” Henrik smiles. “The series is almost like an art piece to me.”
“It’s an amazing feeling to be able to make a change, and to do so on a large scale,” Karin concludes. “I feel so proud to have been a part of it!”
After glazing and the second firing, the finished pieces are stamped and packaged, before making their way to your local IKEA!
With this series, we’re making steps towards a less wasteful future – a few tiny splashes of blue at a time. The SILVERSIDA series is already available at IKEA stores in many countries, and includes bowls and plates in varying sizes and depths.
