Enjoy our showcases of inspiring projects and initiatives

Device for the Removal of Microplastics From Water

Microplastics are increasing in global oceans, freshwater, soil and atmospheric environments. They enter the food chain through particle-feeding organisms until they are finally ingested by humans. 

The 20 year-old chemistry student Fionn Ferreira has envisioned a liquid polarity-based approach to extract all forms of microparticles from water, including nanoplastics and microfibers. Water enters the device and is poured through a plant-based oil phase. Due to the polarity of water and the non-polarity of both microparticles and oil, the oil attracts and traps the suspended particles. Particle-saturated oil is replaced with fresh oil. The saturated oil can be reused after separation of the particles. This novel approach is fast, offering extraction rates >80% at a water-oil contact of merely 1-2 seconds; more contact with oil could yield higher extraction. It is flexible and can be deployed onto both freshwater and saltwater streams without the need for high pressure used in current practise. The absence of filtration grids or sieves means it doesn’t clog. The device poses minimal environmental risk and does not interfere with other suspended solids such as in river water or wastewater entering coagulation plants, and oil losses are minimal.

Fionn is passionate about solving the microplastic problem due to his childhood spent on the coastline of Ireland. The further work on his engineering approach will be conducted with support from the globally recognized engineering consulting firm Stress Engineering Services (SES), chosen because of its extensive experience in fluid science, where Fionn will act as project Co-Principal Investigator.

Peel Pressure Made Us Do It

Creating biodegradable products from organic waste – thats Caracara Collective’s calling. The team has spent the last years experimenting with different recipes and techniques for turning bio-waste into functional objects. Their first collection includes hand-crafted lampshades made of orange peel, and they aim to implement the technology into packaging solutions of the future. With a binder made from 100 % natural ingredients, almost any type of organic by-product of agriculture and industry - fruit peels, coffee chaff, you name it - can be turned into new materials and products. Furthermore, the diversity of the world’s organic waste creates a beautiful color palette to work with, adding a special characteristic and story behind each product. 

The long-term aim is to share the techniques open source so that people around the world can utilize their waste to create solutions locally. Years of experimentation have proven that these materials and techniques are highly adaptable, scalable, and easy to produce. One could create a low-budget and low-tech setup for recycling bio-waste into artisan products, or a whole factory for producing large batches of biodegradable packaging. The goal is to create a global impact through local initiatives. 

The story starts in the summer of 2015 when designer mates Aleksi Vesaluoma and Richard Sullivan started playing around with orange peel in their kitchen in London. Then they encounter an event that leaves the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall full of orange peel. After a chat with the organizers, the guys walk out with as much orange peel as they can carry, which starts a new passion and a journey of material development. Alongside their industrial design studies in London, the guys keep testing new recipes and techniques for working with organic materials. In 2018 Aleksi moves back to his hometown Helsinki and starts Caracara Collective with designer Aleksi Puustinen. They work in a studio space which is a hybrid between a workshop, kitchen, laboratory, recycling station, and an urban farm. Most of their raw materials come from the orange juice machines of their local supermarket and pine needles fallen from discarded Christmas trees. The next stage in their journey is to travel to different places in the world to start sharing their knowledge of working with local biomaterials.

Eggshell Ceramic

10 billion eggs a year are produced in the Netherlands, which makes the country the largest egg exporter in the world. An egg produces a valuable material which is often seen as waste; its shell. ‘Eggshell Ceramic’ is a circular material derived from this industry to show new possibilities with this material.

Laura van de Wijdeven beautiful objects show that we can also use the material one more time before it is given back to nature. She developed a biodegradable but strong material out of eggshells which can be a sustainable replacement for single use products. The material has the look of ceramics but the weight of cardboard, which makes it a versatile material. At the end of its life it still can be used for agriculture. The discarded eggshells are coming from a Dutch chicken company that sells its eggs to supermarkets. A part of those eggs are broken in the process from egg to packaging, which provide waste and useless material for them. 

Currently Laura is working on further product development of the material and its recycling process. As a designer she is inspired by nature and the effect nature has on human. She tries to connect people to nature in different kind of ways. With her project ‘Eggshell Ceramic’ she shows the possibilities of a food waste we all know, all over the world and tells the story of this material and all its beautiful benefits. 

Circuteria - Let's go circular

To tackle the roots of our global waste problem, we could replace up to 90% of fossil-based plastics with bio-alternatives, enabling a circular bioeconomy in which biomass is treated and traded as a valuable resource. However, a general lack of information paired with a lack of economies of scale still hinders us from taking action. Therefore, Circuteria, a smart and sustainable online platform, connects and advises efficiently all stakeholders along a circular bioeconomy to produce, use and recycle sustainable materials and products. 

Circuteria uses a smart match-making and simulation methods to provide buyers and sellers of bio-alternatives with the right information they need. For example, manufacturers can easily find the best bioplastic material from a supplier to replace their currently used fossil-based plastic, using our BioMaterial Finder: First, a manufacturer uploads all necessary information about their currently used plastic and tests with a simulation the use of different bioplastic alternatives on their product  avoiding production errors and over-engineering. For each finding, Circuteria then also takes important life cycle parameters of a material into account, including CO2 emissions and the relative amount of recyclables. In principle, this method is applicable to many other interactions along a circular bioeconomy, for example, to convey biomass between farmers and suppliers. In the BioMaterial Finder prototype, manufacturers but also consumers can type in their currently used plastic ID and obtain information about the best bioplastics alternative offered by a supplier. 

The motivation to develop the Circuteria platform is to disrupt the traditional, analog process of plastic purchasement, because product manufacturers should no longer be limited to a subjective and mostly fossil-based material selection. As a renewable resource, biomass is a natural “ingredient” of a circular bioeconomy, and therefore needs strong support. Also, Circuteria’s concentration on 2nd and 3rd generation biomaterials, e.g. from waste, algae, and cellulose will improve the carbon footprint and agricultural sustainability even further.  The start-up, located in Berlin, is an interdisciplinary team of a sustainable business developer, Gesa Schneider, who has excellent industry and leadership experience in the fields of renewable materials and sustainable manufacturing, and a computational scientist Dr. Sebastian Stolzenberg who is an expert in the simulation of biomaterials and hollow solids, and the development of online platforms. 

Human-Robot Interaction for a World Without Plastic Litter 

The BeachBot detects small litter in outdoor areas, like beaches and parks and needs your help to detect even more.  It is programmed with artificial intelligence enabling it to efficiently map and collect litter, detecting and acting at the same time.  A swarm of robots can collaboratively hunt for litter.

The project incorporates a human-robot interaction. By using a gaming application, anyone with a smartphone can contribute to improve the litter detection algorithm and make the robot smarter. The process is simple: The robot scans the area and collects litter images. Each raw image is then added to a database which forms the input for a labeling game where the gamer can match images with the right type of litter. This way, the initial detection is verified by a reliable (=human) source. This is a win-win formula since (A) the detection algorithm will be improved enabling the robots to perform their task autonomously over time and (B) increasing human awareness on the effects of littering will contribute towards a changing mindset and reduce generating waste at the source. 

Edwin Bos likes the nature of the Dutch coast. What he does not like is litter at the beaches. So he started to think and act.  He and his fellow entrepreneur Martijn Lukaart have built the BeachBot together with the passionate people at the Technical University Delft. Edwin and Lukaart are the co-founders of TechTics, a consultancy based in The Hague that works to resolve social issues with technology.

Solo Packaging

Solo is a delivery package made of only one material: the dry palm leaf. The packaging doesn’t require resins, glues, or any kind of chemicals, being naturally biodegradable and compostable. Besides that, the container can go in the microwave, oven, and freezer. 

Palm leaf is composed of natural fibers (hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin) which are proven to have excellent properties to be used in delivery packages, like retaining heat. Additionally, no palms are ever cut or damaged to obtain the raw material. Only dry leaves are ideal for production, so we  just have to be a little patient until they fall naturally. They fall during the whole year and each one can make two containers on average. 

Putting botany and design together, Solo keeps the convenience of a disposable package whilst making no harm to nature. This material has equal or even better characteristics compared to the polymer ones, maintaining the food temperature, not absorbing liquid in short term, and having no smell or taste. 

Solo Packaging designed two types of packaging so far: a rectangular one and round one. The first one has a locking system between the container and the lid. The lid also has a little slope to pile other packages and make a safe delivery possible. The second one is composed of two identical fitting parts. Both come with a seed paper belt to ensure proper sealing and to inform the properties of the container. 

It all started when Ana, a Product Design student, researched about using palm leaves in products and presented a fictional project to a subject in university in Brazil. Mateus, a Product Design student and botany lover, was there and fell in love with the idea. He spent months just studying and testing this material and realized how good the idea was. After that, he called Ana and they started to make it happen. Nevertheless, they still needed someone to help with all the machinery and to model the product, so they called Yago, the third co-founder and also a Product Designer, and invited him to be a part of the team. 

The Dissolving Bottle

The Philippines is commonly called a “sachet economy”. This is how most people purchase their toiletries, with little awareness on the impact of single-use plastics on the environment. And due to inadequate waste management, ocean pollution is huge problem, especially when taking to account that the country is completely surrounded by a marine ecosystem.

David Guerrero and his team at his creative agency in Manila redesigned a shampoo bar into the shape of a bottle to make it more intuitive. 

Solid shampoo bars are a genuinely simple solution to get rid of plastic packaging, but most people still think it’s a bar of soap. Bottles for hair. Bars for the body. So far this was not appealing for the hotel industry or home consumers to use. So by changing its shape, maybe we can change the consumer mindset. David says, “We have long been involved with campaigns to fight plastic waste. And with The Dissolving Bottle we have a solution that can clean your hair without a bottle.’”

Each bar is made with all-organic ingredients by local Filipino manufacturer The Naturale Market. Partner brands have the chance to customize their own versions of The Dissolving Bottle and the agency is also offering to supply the molds at cost to artisanal producers for community livelihood projects.

Suppli: The Future of Sustainable Takeout!

Suppli is a reusable takeout container service that uses an innovative approach to eliminate single-use plastics from the takeout and delivery industry. Female-founded and based in Toronto, Suppli partners with local restaurants to provide reuseable containers so customers can enjoy takeout without the waste. In 10 months, the founders Megan Takeda-Tully & Julianna Grecoand her team have signed up almost 2,000 consumers and 25 partner restaurants and saved 8,500 single-use takeout containers from landfills (for context, that’s 8 minivans worth)! After launching and refining the service in Toronto’s downtown east end, Suppli’s on an exciting growth path building an app to expand city-wide (and beyond!) in the coming years. 

How it all began: Single-use waste has been a problem weighing on the founders for years. While at a dinner party 6 years ago, Megan, floated the idea by a group of friends with no takers. Everyone went on to talk about how convenient single-use products were. The market was not ready. Fast forward to 2019, the same group of people we’re lamenting about the excess amount of packaging that comes with meal kit deliveries! Megan floated the idea of a reusable takeout container service again, and this time, it was a hit. The market was ready! 

And this is why Suppli is on its mission: Globally, we extract an unsustainable amount of resources from the Earth to produce single-use items that are used for a mere 10 minutes and then spend the next 400 years negatively impacting developing countries, nearly 700 species (especially seabirds), and our oceans. Locally, Toronto serves approximately 39M takeout meals per year, which conservatively means we are tossing 78M pieces of waste each year! What’s worse, only 9 % of what we place in our recycling bins actually gets recycled. Also plastic recycling is energy-intense downcycling.

Growing with Sprout

Eco-Designer Pat Mangulabnan from the Philippines contributes with her sustainable packaging concept Sprout to the growth of local plants.  Sprout is made from discarded pineapple leaves that grow after using the package into a new plant. The plantable feature ensures that its life does not end right after consumption; its purpose continuously changes before, during, and after use.  It’s where circular economy meets sustainable design.

The concept also includes a digital application with a QR code, which guides the user when, where, and how to correctly plant the used packaging depending on the seed season. The app would let people know where they have already made an impact by planting their Sprout, further challenging and motivating them to continue Sprout’s mission.

Pat works with the Design Center of the Philippines and local agricultural communities to ensure proper composting and planting is possible. The artwork is printed by using organic soy ink and the food is protected by an edible starch wrapper.

Sprout’s design eliminates unnecessary waste and encourages locals to actively contribute to the preservation of the diverse Philippine flora. Sprout’s packaging design lets us consumers interact better with the product, gives us a sense of fulfillment and responsibility, as well as reinforces a positive behavioral change towards living a more sustainable life. As Pat says: „I love that the package is interactive – you can learn about the seeds and plant them instead of discarding the packaging!“

MEDLAstic

Agostina Laurenzano’s work at the intersection of artistic and scientific research has lead to the creation of bioplastics in order to fulfill a circular economy. She had repeatedly researched different renewable sources in the area where she lives under the condition that it should be agricultural waste which is no potential food, or anything derived from animals. She identified a very rich source of starch at the bottom of her garden, thanks to the collection of Japanese medlar seeds. After this discovery, she has devised a production system. Then two prototypes have been developed. The first is a 100 % biodegradable bowl, made from starch and silicate. Silicate is of mineral origin containing silicon, the second most abundant chemical element in the earth’s crust. It is incorporated in the recipe to increase the resistance to humidity, making it waterproof and reusable. For decorative purposes, dehydrated vegetables are used to create a more romantic result. The second prototype is a disposable sachet of virgin olive oil, made from starch, with heat-sealed edges. 

In 2017 Agostina Laurenzano was given the opportunity to attend the laboratory of the Faculty of Biology at the University of Barcelona were she built up her own portfolio of research in natural polymers over the years with projects in jewellery design and lately on a more functional level in packaging design. She currently gives workshops a on bioplastics and eco-design.

Bacterial Cellulose And Eggshell Snack Packaging

Julia Correia Campos designed and developed a snack packaging with a compostable material made out of bacterial cellulose from Kombucha SCOBY and eggshell. Both materials are abundant resources that would normally go to waste. They are low-cost and easy to process, making its manufacturing process feasible. The bacterial cellulose and eggshell bio-composite is home-compostable. Since eggshells contain macronutrients that are essential for plant growth, the packaging can also be torn down into small pieces and used as fertilizer. 

In order to manufacture the foldable, rigid, light-colored, and printable material, the bacterial cellulose and eggshell are washed, boiled, and ground. Then they are mixed together forming a pulp that was then dried between two fabrics, using as reference the manufacturing process of papermaking. 

The shape and structure of the packaging were designed to be practical in use with its opening and closing flaps. The Brazilian Modernism artistic movement inspired the visual concept and these characteristics are portrayed in its organic silhouettes, vibrant colors, and the use of local decorative patterns. 

The project was part of Julia’s design studies at the University of the State of Minas Gerais in Brazil. The material was created together with Ponto Biodesign, which is an experimental laboratory that develops materials with bacterial cellulose and local food waste. The aim was to create a solution that had less negative environmental impact compared to the traditional single-use plastic food packaging and to celebrate the local design culture.

Sowing Circularity

Big Circle Studios, based in the community of Lorentzville in the bustling city of Johannesburg, South Africa applies circular economy hands-on locally through grassroot research and design.

Members of the local community envision a new way to valorize organic waste. Local waste streams from businesses in the area are identified and biomaterials and products are developed from these waste materials. At each stage, the information learned is packaged and shared through open-source mediums that are accessible to those within the local community and those on the outside as well. This creates the opportunity for people to learn, create work, and build businesses that are centered around sustainable materials at all levels of the supply chain. For example, one person could build a business creating eggshell powder for its chemical properties of calcium carbonate, and another could create a business making a lamp from a provided prototype design. The main aim of this grassroots approach is to make the final outcomes as accessible, low- tech, and low-cost as possible in order to accelerate the way in which people engage with a circularity economy. To ensure this information is clear and approachable, free workshops are conducted where participants are walked through each stage of the material and product development process, enabling them to go home with a biomaterial product that they have created. 

Big Circle Studios was found in the midst of the pandemic by Kiera & Matt in the hope of reimagining and reshaping the narrative of how green, circular, and sustainable economies exist in the world. They became aware of how limited the western perspectives of the circular economy due to their technocratic, theoretic and top-down-minded  approach are, so they created their vision which works practically for the land that they call home  – Johannesburg, South Africa. 

More than a year ago, they began working on a materials library and low-tech plastics recycling workshop funded by the British Council. As they built momentum, they received funding for an informal waste economy mapping project and a biomaterials workshop by the Goethe Institut. Since then they have been expanding their expertise in biomaterial creation and working to further their mission of grassroots development of the circular economy with support from the South African government. 

So Easy with SOISI

In German elementary schools the pupils usually use colored plastic covers for their exercise books in order to distinguish between the different subjects. The covers are exchanged every school term. The used ones are usually worn-out and thrown away and thus creating unwanted plastic waste.

The industrial designers Britta Kratz und Elke Leipf, founders of designdirect.de and both mothers of schoolchildren, came up with a straightforward & eco-responsible solution: Their 100% recycling paper exercise books are locally made in Germany and „Blauer Engel“ certified. Now, how to get them color labeled without using plastic covers? It is so easy (or „SO ISI“): The pupils paint the corners of the books with colored pens themselves at the start of each school term. Not needing a plastic cover any more, the SOISI exercise books bring schools one step closer to a plastic-free learning environment. They are available at the Greenpeace online-warehouse and many other shops.

Paper Art

Berlin has got a new museum for Paper Art. HAUS DES PAPIERS is dedicated exclusively to sculptural and three-dimensional artworks made with and out of paper.

For as long as paper has existed, people have had a fascination and an emotional connection to this material. Paper combines fragility and strength at the same time. From the idea to the artistic process to the brutal transition of the aggregate state: Its creative possibilities are endless.

At Haus des Papiers works by international artists show the wide-ranging potential of this material full of history and tradition in Contemporary Art in exciting and surprisingly versatile forms: Photo objects, paper charcoal sculptures, ceramics with fire-erased paper, sewn photo montages, layered paper cuts, and more. The inaugural exhibition brings together more than 20 artists, among them such world-renowned names as Rosemarie Trockel, Monica Bonvicini, Christiane Feser, Leiko Ikemura or Wof Vostell.

This daring project was an initiative by d’mage, Berlin-based FineArt print manufactory, with support by their partner companies Hahnemühle and Canon Germany. Together, they have long been engaging in increasing and promoting public awareness of paper as material in Visual Arts.

Sprout

Eco-Designer Pat Mangulabnan from the Philippines contributes with her sustainable packaging concept Sprout to the growth of local plants.  Sprout is made from discarded pineapple leaves that grow after using the package into a new plant. The plantable feature ensures that its life does not end right after consumption. It’s where circular economy meets sustainable design.

Pat works with the Design Center of the Philippines and local agricultural communities to ensure proper composting and planting is possible. The artwork is printed by using organic soy ink and the food is protected by an edible starch wrapper.

Sprout’s design eliminates unnecessary waste and encourages locals to actively contribute to the preservation of the diverse Philippine flora. Sprout’s packaging design lets us consumers interact better with the product, gives us a sense of fulfillment and responsibility, as well as reinforces a positive behavioral change towards living a more sustainable life. As Pat says: „I love that the package is interactive – you can learn about the seeds and plant them instead of discarding the packaging!“

Sea Stone

newtab-22 is a material-led design studio based in London and Seoul. The two founders Jihee Moon and Hyein (Hailey) Choiare both are product designers from the Royal College of Art, London with an interest in natural, new or overlooked materials.

Every year, 7 million tons of seashells are discarded by the fishing industry. Yet these shells are materials with high potential, which consist of over 90% calcium carbonate, similar to the ingredients in limestone.

Their biomaterial 'Sea Stone' is made from wasted seashells which get ground and composed with minerals, sand and natural non-toxic binders using a recipe which has been developed by the design team in countless experiments. Sea Stone features a hardness and aesthetic texture like a mineral stone and right now is used to create decorative wall panels and interior decorative objects with many more applications to come.

Seedpaper

Marion Peternell, the nature-connected and visionary founder of SEEDPAP, came to beekeeping a long time ago through her fascination for honey bees and their highly developed social behavior. In addition to the state-building honeybees, the many, often tiny, wild bee species are particularly close to her heart. The acute threat to many of these species awakened a vision in her.

Marion developed SEEDPAP as a logical addition to her work as a beekeeper: Even a small piece of flowering bee pasture in a garden supports bees and other insects which is of immeasurable value for all of us: only if there are enough insects for pollination can both biological diversity and the quality and quantity of our food be preserved.

SEEDPAP paper is made by hand in Marion’s workshop in Styria, Austria. As raw materials cellulose, waste paper and scraps of plants are used. Then flower or herb seeds are added to make it a blooming paper which is offered as postcards, envelopes, gift boxes or even confetti. Marion also holds workshops to make your own seedpaper. Every piece of SEEDPAP is a blooming reminder of the importance of wild and honey bees for our environment and our food.

Wear the future now!

Charlotte McCurdy is an interdisciplinary designer and researcher whose work focuses on making existential threats, such as climate change, more tractable through design. Her goal: counteract the narrative of climate change as a problem without a solution.

For her project “After Ancient Sunlight”, she fashioned a water-resistant raincoat from a plastic-like material she developed made of algae, which naturally sequester carbon from the atmosphere. The carbon-negative jacket debuted as part of “Nature — The Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial.”

Based in New York City, Charlotte recently joined forces with another New York-based designer, Phillip Lim, to create a petroleum-free dress that's covered in bioplastic sequins – all made out of algae.

Refork. Not Plastic, Just Nature.

It all started with the idea to replace plastic in everyday products with a more sustainable material. Drawing from previous experience with manufacturing, the founders of Refork from the Czech Republic discovered a way to bind wood flour to natural substances. Thus, the iconic fork came into being. The team spent two years looking for the right ingredients to make a completely natural and renewable material that uses locally sourced raw materials and can be easily processed. The whole manufacturing process is resource-efficient and scalable. In order to achieve their mission, they established their own research & development facility in Prague, where they are testing new materials and manufacture the final products. All locally and in-house. The bright people at Refork are on a mission to roll out more products and start a Natural Material Renaissance.

And here are the three “secret” ingredients:

Wood Flour - Giving wood a second life. This purified primary ingredient is sourced locally as industrial waste from wood processing.

PHA - The fully biodegradable polymer Polyhydroxyalkanoate (let’s better call it PHA) is produced via fermentation by bacteria and serves as a binder. PHAs are not conventional plastic but natural materials found in nature, such as cellulose or starch.

Minerals - To ease the manufacturing process and enhance the mechanical properties, a mixture of different minerals – all of which are renewable – is added. By the way, minerals also make great fertilizers.

Circular fashion

Every year billions of new T-shirts get made. And every second a truck full of clothes is thrown away. As a child, Mart Drake-Knight was concerned about the waste we produce. Later in life he started together with his brother Rob an ethical responsible clothing brand called RAPANUI in the garden shed at their home on the Isle of Wight with a mission to solve it.

In their factory on the island, the T-shirts are produced in the seconds after they are ordered, only making what people actually need, when they need it. Made from natural materials. Using renewable energy. The conscientious application of technology has enabled RAPANUI to demonstrate that there is a different way of operating, and it works. And of course RAPANUI uses plastic-free packaging. They even developed plastic-free rain jackets using a tightly woven organic canvas with a wax coating to make a water-repellent material.

Every product is designed to be sent back when it is worn out. RAPANUI makes new products from the material they recover.

Recently the team has been building a platform so that anyone in the world has access to this supply chain and tech. It's called Teemill, and it's free.

Selfish

The short animation movie Selfish tells the story about sea animals suffering from plastic trash, making their living environment poisonous and how this misery ends up on our dinner tables. The movie was awarded at several film festivals around the world, such as Siggraph Asia 2019, London International Animation Festival, Film Miami Fest and the International Short Film Festival in Greece. It is written, directed and produced by Po Chien Chen, a computer animation artist from Taiwan with 15 years of traditional painting experience, currently studying at Sheridan College in Canada.

The idea for the movie came two years ago, when Po Chien was living on a small island in Taiwan enjoying the beach with its white sand and turquoise ocean but also seeing tons of human-made waste lying around the shore as if it was a part of nature. It made him introspect: “The ocean brings me happiness that I have never had in my life, but what can I contribute to our environment? As a person who grew up in a big city, this is common sense to me: I would not change my lifestyle, or directly pay more attention and concern to the environment, if I hadn't witnessed the despicable garbage in person. The movie Selfish is my way to express this issue and evoke people's goodness”.

Products made from products

Pentatonic is a design and technology company with the vision to build the world’s first end-to-end circular economy product and service business, and bring true change to the culture of beautiful product design whilst revolutionizing the consumer goods world.

It was founded by sustainable supply chain innovator Johann Boedecker, and consumer brand and marketing leader Jamie Hall sharing their combined experiences in circular supply chains and launching products with mass consumer appeal. Initially, the two focused their efforts on realizing a circular business model through the lens of a direct-to-consumer, modular, and re-recyclable furniture concept.

Following its first year of operations, the team decided to broaden access to its rich portfolio of experiences and learnings by teaming up with leading consumer brands on their circularity initiatives.

A world where waste is no longer wasted

UBQ Materials Ltd is a company headquartered in Israel, which is tackling the growing global problem of landfill waste. 

It has developed and patented an advanced conversion technology transforming residential municipal waste into a biomass-based thermoplastic material. Unlike traditional recycling, UBQ uses the entire waste stream, requiring no separation. That means everything from food waste and mixed plastics to cardboard, paper and even diapers are upcycled into a novel raw material, which is a sustainable substitute for oil-based plastics.

It is a drop-in material that can be seamlessly used in existing manufacturing processes for thousands of everyday products as a sustainable alternative to conventional plastics, wood and concrete, without having any impact on their quality, price and appearance. With a climate positive balance and a cost-competitive price, UBQ replaces our current linear consumption models with a circular economy.

Human Body Design

Alice Potts is a Biotech Fashion Designer, Material Researcher & Inventor based in London. Having graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2018 and having been an Artistic Research Fellow in Residence at the Onassis Foundation in Athens, she is at the forefront of Biotech Fashion. Alice is working as a freelancer on the development of sustainable biofabrication products for several industries. Also she develops store concepts and her work is displayed at international art exhibitions & museums like the National Gallery of Victoria/Australia.

​Alice Potts’ focus is on the importance of bodily function within the materiality looking at the interconnection between biology and materiality. She reminds us that our bodies are still our greatest technologies.  Her project “Perspire”, where she grows materials out of human sweat crystals creates and captures an emotion beyond an ordinary experience, showing the beauty of how our bodies respond to our current environment. Sweat covers us in similar ways to clothing like a second skin. In collaboration with the Bioengineering team at Imperial College London, she has developed a process to extract our natural sodium, lactic acids and oestrogen etc. to create unique crystals for her material design.

Also, Alice experimented over the last five years with biomaterials such as algae, seaweed and discarded food. She has been able to adapt the material from a solid to a silicon quality with endless possibilities from weaving, joining, interlocking, dry molding etc. Have a look at Alice Potts’ website. It is impressive!

Shell Homage – Bio Material Out of Egg & Nut Shells 

Shell Homage is a biodegradable composite material out of egg and nut shells without toxic chemicals. It is completely biodegradable and can decompose when no longer in use. It can be used in several industries as product design, interior design, consumable goods and jewelry design.

Shell Homage is founded by the integrated designer Rania Elkalla and was initiated during her master research project. The material properties can be controlled according to the application from stiff, hard, transparent, translucent or opaque surfaces to elastic and malleable sheets. The surfaces looks like marble or natural stone but the material is much lighter. The created composite material can be pressed, extruded, 3D printed or formed by injection molding. Each surface is handcrafted into unique combination of colors and patterns. It is 100% compostable when it is no longer in use. 

Living without plastic

Living without plastic is a new book from Plastic Oceans International and authors Brigette Allen and Christine Wong. It serves as a concise and beautiful guide on how to easily embrace a plastic-reduced lifestyle. It offers over 100 simple, sustainable and stylish swaps, providing readers with plastic alternatives for everything from kitchen and dining, to health, beauty, travel and beyond.

It is available as Hardcover & eBook worldwide in select bookstores and online retailers. Or you can receive it as a gift for your donation at Plastic Oceans International, a non-profit organization operating in California, dedicated to ending plastic pollution and fostering sustainable communities worldwide.

In this post, authors Christine Wong and Brigette Allen explain their journey with the book and what sets it apart.

Unpack Less, Peel More

Elena Amato is a designer from Guatemala currently living in Brazil. She is passionate about circular design, developing materials using biofabrication and thinking about creative applications for them. In 2019 she founded Ponto Biodesign, a biofabrication lab and design studio, where she has created sheets of bacterial cellulose with paper-like qualities as a sustainable alternative to the plastic packaging used in personal care products.

The dried bacterial cellulose material can be glued together using water, eliminating the need to use glues or other adhesives when sealing the packaging. Natural pigments such as spirulina, hibiscus, saffron and charcoal are added to the mixture during the blending process to achieve different colours.

In addition to these qualities, the low-tech manufacturing process has a minimal level of energy consumption, and Elena Amato envisions it being made locally to generate jobs in the area as well as eliminating the need to transport raw materials from far away.

Read Milla Koivisto’s Green Talk interview to learn about the great mission Elena Amato is on!

The journey of a shrimp shell

THE SHELLWORKS makes home-compostable materials from seafood waste that degrade in just 4-6 weeks. After the product life-cycle the material will start degrading when placed in earth and even acts as a natural fertilizer for plants.

They developed a range of products for their clients such as candle containers, plant pots, films, and plinths. Also, they license their technology to companies who want to manufacture products on their own.

SHELLWORKS’ FAQ site explains more about this fascinating approach.

We are LABVA!

LABVA stands for Laboratorio de Biomateriales de Valdivia (Chile) which is an independent, self organized community group. Together they go out in nature to study plants & natural materials and experiment creating new biomaterials by developing kitchen recipes or growing them.

But the enthusiastic people involved in this admirable initiative do even more than designing new biomaterials. They have a holistic vision: In today’s world we often are disconnected from a product’s origin and its possible impact on the environment. So LABVA’s approach is about reconnecting with nature and the local culture and build an awareness, emotional binding and cultural identity with materials and their use.

The key to LABVA’s success is connecting people locally, experimenting playfully and teaching children. Because it is our children who will shape the culture of the world of tomorrow!

Aqua Faba Foam

Material Designer Paula Nerlich is developing a bioplastic based on aquafaba from chickpeas as part of her research into circular, compostable biomaterials. 

The material, which is currently under development, shows great potential for mechanical manufacturing and thus for industrial production. The biomaterial varies in color from cream white to pink and changes its color over time. However, it can be dyed with natural or food colors. The structure can be flexible or hard, the recipe is adaptable. The biomaterial is completely vegan and biodegradable. Compostability is currently being tested. 

The temporary nature of biodegradable biomaterials reminds us of the flow of nature and makes us appreciate the quality of impermanence. The transience of the materials has the potential to create a higher value in the end product, while also emphasizing the circular nature of the material. 

Junior Changemakers

Dopper, a Dutch Social Enterprise selling reusable water bottles, is on a mission towards a world with crystal clear water in every ocean and from every tap. Therefore, they launch initiatives like the Dopper Changemaker Challenge Junior, which is an international competition for children aged 8 to 12 that challenges them to develop solutions to single-use plastic pollution in our oceans. 

Children have unlimited imagination and creativity, which – if guided well – can lead to brilliant solutions. It is important that children learn that their input is valued and taken seriously. The international competition – held in UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and Nepal – is both accessible for teachers, who can take part with their pupils, and for children independently. Provided educational materials are designed specifically to guide them through every step on their way leading to genius solutions! Children can upload their sketches on the Dopper website where  they have a platform they deserve to display their ideas and solutions. Also, a winner is announced by a jury and together a prototype of their solution is built and displayed in public. The initiative supports teachers‘ learning objectives and at the same time children get the chance to grow and expand their skill set. They develop their creativity, collaboration skills and readiness to deal with complex futures and embrace a changemaker attitude.

PLANT plASTIC!

Cinzia Ferrari’s PLANT plASTIC! is a fantastic packaging material that doesn’t contain any toxic ingredient and that doesn’t become waste: Instead, at the end of its use it takes a new life form by growing into a house plant. 

Packaging is not a passive dead matter anymore. It is alive and contributes to a better environment: By growing into a plant, CO2 is absorbed from the air and single-use packaging consumption is reduced as the user will grow fresh products as tomatoes that are normally sold wrapped in plastic. The material is made of sodium alginate, plant seeds and Azospirillum Brasilense, which is a soil bacteria harmless to us humans and because of its nitrogen-fixing property promotes plant growth. For this reason this bacteria is well known as biofertilizer.

The packaging made of this material is dry and organically inactive but alive.  It will become active again only when it is planted into soil. For this reason, Azospirillum Brasilense won’t contaminate any packaged product.

Cinzia’s motto is that in terms of design efficiency we should pay closer attention to nature. We need lightness in materials which not only means less matter but more efficiency: products need to sense and respond to changes in the environment.

The project has been inspired by group work and experiments done during the MA Biodesign at Central Saint Martins in collaboration with Emily Roscoe, Meiqi Peng, Moises Hernandez and Paula Camiña.

Choose the Reusable Cup

In Bulgarian public kindergartens, children between 3-7 years drink water almost exclusively from disposable plastic cups. As a result, the annual plastic waste equals 240 000 000 cups, weights 550 tons and would cover half of the Earth’s Equator, if wasted cups were arranged in a line. This is an extreme case of throw-away culture that is being imprinted into children’s perceptions as a norm. From economic standpoint, the produced waste costs Bulgarian citizens between 3 000 000 - 3 500 000 €/year. 

The “Choose the Reusable Cup” project started as a local community initiative in a state kindergarten in the town of Varna, Bulgaria. Sabina Maksimova, a mother of two, proposed a solution: a reusable metal cup, engraved with a unique symbol for each child. Later, this community initiative received the support of a local ecology organization – Public Environmental Center for Sustainable Development. Currently, the project has the ambitious task to reach parent communities across the whole country. 

The mission of “Choose the Reusable Cup” project is to change perceptions and consumption norms, so that caring about the environment and healthy living will be more valued than the few-seconds convenience of the disposable container.

Think outside the box

Coolpaste is a sustainable packaging design that literally thinks outside the box. The designer Allan Gomes gave birth to an eco-friendly alter ego of our trusty old toothpaste.

The tube is made of impermeable cardboard and the cap is made of biodegradable Polylactide (PLA), a bioplastic derived from renewable resources such as corn starch, tapioca roots or sugarcane. The Coolpaste tube itself has a tab to hang it in the Point-Of-Sale shelf. This makes an outside packaging obsolete resulting in being lighter for transport, reducing waste and creating a unique branding. This smart eco-design solves logistical and environmental issues for global toothpaste brands.

Small changes. Big impact.

The products we buy everyday impact our health and the health of the planet. Let us choose them consciously.

With his start-up Horizon Vick Solanki creates a smartphone-app which gives you background information about product packaging and the impact on the environment by scanning the barcode. Also it has an information section which takes the confusion out of the packaging lingo. Can I recycle this? Is all plastic bad? What does compostable actually mean? The app will give answers. Right now the app in beta stage and Vick would love to know what you think by becoming a beta tester.

It is developed in collaboration with Open Food Facts, a free and crowdsourced food products database made by everyone for everyone. It was launched back in 2012 by French programmer Stéphane Gigandet and today lists approx. 1.5 million items with its generic name, quantity, type of packaging, brand, category, manufacturing or processing locations, countries and stores where the product is sold, list of ingredients, any traces for allergies, food additives, dietary and nutritional information.

It is a great tool and movement to re-connect with the products around us.

Good bye Plastic! Hello Infinity Goods!

Infinity Goods is Denver's first zero-waste grocery delivery service that sources and delivers a wide selection of foods in reusable containers. Then, like the milkman, we retrieve, clean, and reuse those containers for future deliveries, taking plastic packaging waste out of the grocery experience. Our mission is to make it easy for customers to ditch plastic, without compromising convenience or the foods they love.

Infinity Goods was founded by Ashwin Ramdas and Dani McLean after they committed to giving up plastic in their personal lives. They soon realized how impossible it was to find foods without the single-use packaging and had to give up their favorite foods, like pasta and ice cream. They knew that if it was too difficult for extremely motivated people like them to give up plastic, then most people wouldn't do it. So they set out to create a system where they could get food from the source to the customer without requiring disposable packaging or requiring the customer to do any of the work. Modern-day grocery deliver was the perfect vehicle to create that circular economy for food packaging, and thus Infinity Goods was created.

The Future is unpacked

Greenpeace, Germany launched the ReUse Revolution Map which lists Unpacked- and Refill-Stores all over Germany. You can interactively search for shops in your region and filter the shops regarding their product offerings. Also, you can edit new stores on your own.

There is also the #ReUseRevolution activity board you can join. And Greenpeace runs a “the Future is unpacked” Petition towards the German Ministry of Environmental Protection to support the unpacked food movement.

Planet Bio

BIOVEGAN GmbH is a pioneer in bio-vegan food products. Claus und Käthe Henneke started their company around 30 years ago and today are a leading supplier of eco-responsible Baking and Cooking ingredients in Germany.

Now they have on their agenda to be a plastic-free company by the end of the year. They have already successfully introduced new compostable product packages. In the next step they will switch to sustainable alternatives made of cardboard and reusable containers for their transport packages saving around 1 ton of plastic a year which can be tracked on their Plastic Free by 2020 project page.

The Item Bag 2.0: Packaging That Dissolves!

Why are we still making packaging with desired lifetimes of an hour, a day or a week out of materials that last hundreds of years?

This is the question that prompted the founders at wastebased to start their company. They make biodegradable packaging for the on‑demand economy. Their (e-co)mmerce mail bags are compostable, strong, waterproof, reusable and non-toxic.

Their ecopackaging 101 guide explains very well the pros and cons of different packaging solutions.

U-Retain

U-Retain is an environmental and educational initiative in Lusaka, Zambia. Plastic waste remains one of the main land pollutants in Central Africa. The dumping of plastic materials in the streets of many communities is extreme.

U-Retain seeks to use waste plastic as a purchasing power for educational basics such as books, pencils, school uniforms, school bags, school shoes and help adolescents in examinations classes pay their examination fee. Furthermore the initiative allows streets kids and the less privileged to get food and sanitary products.

The initiative collects and trades the plastic waste to recycling companies and the money is used to get educational material and also menstrual hygiene products. The people of U-Retain work together with the Visionary Youth for Change Initiative.

Waxy

Ecosoc is a social enterprise based in Mogadishu, Somalia spearheaded by a team of young environmental conservationists who have a background in Medicine and Environmental health. In order to clean up the cities of their plastic waste, they have introduced an innovative chemical-free and energy-conserving plastic extrusion technology called „Waxy ıı Technology“ to recycle and transform waste plastics, packaging materials and agricultural waste into durable and environmentally friendly roof tiles, interlocking bricks, paving stones and plastic lumbers. This reduces the need for building material manufactured from wood, helping to preserve the forests, cut down on deforestation rates and mitigation of climate change. 

The people from Ecosoc collect – with the engagement of youth – and women groups- waste from households, businesses and municipal markets and take it to decentralized sorting sites where in gets sorted into more than 40 fractions. They then compost the organic waste into high-quality compost; the other materials (paper, glass, metal) are also recycled. The beauty of the recycled Waxy products: They are durable, cost effective, aesthetic, insect resistant and easy to work with. Ecosoc’s three year strategic plan is: 1. Recycle over 2.5 million kilograms of plastic and save an estimated 250 acres of forest. 2. Prevent 2,500 Tons of Carbon dioxide gas emissions. 3. Create 300 direct jobs. 

Disintegrate me!

Margarita Talep is an industrial designer based in Santiago, Chile. Her work explores biomaterial research, sustainability and circular economy. 

She has created several eco-conscious design solutions and also collaborates with her Alma Mater - the Diego Portales University - in a new Biomaterial Laboratory project.

Desintegra.me intends to replace single-use plastics with a new material extracted from algae. The Spanish term “Desintegra me” implies, that it will „disappear“ after using it. Pigments are extracted from the skin of discarded fruits and vegetables. 

The material can have different degrees of flexibility, and can be rigid and brittle to flexible and elastic. It degrades naturally over a period of 2 to 4 months depending on the atmospheric conditions. 

Margarita Talep’s website shows beautiful examples for packages with this innovative material and also gives a very good explanation how we use materials in a cultural sense.

Choose to refuse

Plastic Free July is a global movement that helps everyone of us using less plastic and being part of the solution to plastic pollution – so we can have cleaner streets, oceans, and beautiful communities.

Plastic Free July is a key initiative of the Plastic Free Foundation which was founded in 2011 in Australia. The 2019 Annual Report tells their impressive story.

We have created an interactive, fun-to-use calendar which guides you through each beautiful plastic-free day of July.

The Story of Plastic

We invite you to a special online screening of The Story of Plastic, a new documentary film by Deia Schlosberg which exposes the environmental, climate, justice, and health impacts of the plastic industry. 

The film takes a sweeping look at the man-made crisis of plastic pollution and the worldwide effect it has on the health of our planet and the species who inhabit it. It features interviews with experts and activists on the front lines of the fight, revealing the disastrous consequences of the flood of plastic smothering ecosystems and poisoning communities around the world, and the global movement that is rising up in response.

The movie is presented by The Story of Stuff Project, a nonprofit dedicated to changing the way that we make, use, and throw away Stuff so that it is more sustainable, healthy, and fair. The Story of Stuff Project is a member of #breakfreefromplastic, a global movement envisioning a future free from plastic pollution.

You can watch the complete movie here for free until End of June.

Zero waste wood

Design Wharf Creative is an art, design and maker start-up based in Geelong, Australia. The founder Rachel Eastman aims for principles of Zero Waste by finding value in re-using byproducts from industrial processes.

The first project was the design of 're-' rescued timber cupholders, handmade of waste wood from the local timber industry. The project attracted positive feedback becoming a finalist in an ethical enterprise competition and shortly afterwards, invited to host a product launch for the Geelong Design Week 2020.

Repairing broken plastic parts

Instead of throwing away a product which has a broken piece of plastic, it might make sense to repair it.

The Youtube channel Tech Tangents gives a helpful tutorial on several different ways to fix things using baking soda and super glue. Don't forget to wear goggles when trying this at home! Or combine your repair work with enjoying a cup of coffee at a repair café close to your home!

Bring your own cutlery

As food delivery has become common practice for many restaurants around the world, the use of throw-away plastic cutlery has increased as well. 

So it was time for the Award-wining product designer Mark Windsor and his team to start the Bring Your Own (BYO) Cutlery movement with his outdoor accessories brand Full Windsor based in Los Angeles, California.

Their products are made from the highest quality, sustainably responsible materials and are designed to last the test of time. 

The Muncher is a Titanium Multi Utensil which was featured by Outside Magazine as Gear of the Year and by Backpacker Magazine as Best Knive & Tool.

Full Windsor’s newest project is the cutlery set Magware which can be backed through crowdfunding campaigns on Kickstarter and Indiegogo.

Plastic in the world

Alvaro Gracia Montoya from MetaBallStudios is a true master in motion graphics and 3D visualizations. His videos of illustrated comparisons on a variety of subjects are viewed by millions of people all over the world. His Youtube channel lists 142 million visits.

We are proud that we at BEYONDPLASTIC had the opportunity to collaborate with Alvaro on his latest animation video „Plastic in the world“. 

Turning the tide

Growing up in South Florida Phil Scarlata was constantly at the beach, getting sun burnt, exploring the creatures beneath the ocean's surface, smelling the ocean breeze, watching seagulls steal chips from tourists and almost going in a trance listening to the waves crash. It's still his favorite place to be, but ocean plastic pollution hits close to his home. Swimming and diving in plastic debris has fueled Phil’s drive to create the overall plastic pollution prevention company with a mission:

Wild Plastic rids the wild of plastic via beach clean-ups, it upcycles recovered plastic into permanent items and gets to the root of the issue by providing alternatives to fossil fuel based single-use plastics.

Phil Scarlata creates upcycled Bowls, Baskets and "Awareness Coasters" with custom machines that he has built on his own. The process begins with cleaning, sorting and shredding the recovered plastic with a shredder machine to create plastic flakes. The next step is to either extrude the flakes around a custom mold with the extrusion machine or inject the flakes into a mold with the injection machine. There are no materials added and the colors are original from the recovered plastic.

Wild Plastic's TideTurners™ program supports companies which plan to phase out fossil fuel-based products.

Reduce - Reuse - Rethink

Paula Nerlich is a designer and explorer with a deep fascination for sustainable design. She is active in the fields of Material Design, Trend Research, Textile Design and Circular Design Innovation.

Her current research into sustainable materials has brought material innovations, such as Aqua Faba and COCOA, which can be found in Material Libraries. Her work is displayed at the London Design Museum and several exhibitions across Europe.

With her work she aims to support the elimination of so called food waste through the creation of circular biomaterials from industrial food production surplus.

Back to basics

TIPA was founded in 2010 by Daphna Nissenbaum and Tal Neuman to address the plastic waste challenge. The Israeli company creates viable compostable, flexible packaging solutions.

TIPA’s vision is for flexible packaging to have the same end-of-life as organic matter, while still offering consumers and brands the durability, transparency and shelf life they have come to expect from conventional plastics.

“Packaging should behave just like an orange peel, so nature won’t even notice we’re here”

Glass Bottles & Eggshells

French-American designer Steven Akoun strives towards an experimental design approach that blurs the boundaries between science and design. New materials and processes are becoming more and more critical in the realm of industrial design. The designer’s passion for these challenges has enabled him to create thought provoking, sustainable and radical objects.

One of the materials he is working with is glass foam. Thanks to their porous aspect the wall tiles in the image above absorb sound waves very efficiently. As we know, noise cancellation has an important effect on health.

The tiles are made from recycled glass bottles and reclaimed eggshells and can be used in noisy indoor areas such as workplaces and restaurants.  

One potato at a time

The Swedish start-up POTATO PLASTIC creates a plastic-like material out of potato waste. 

The team behind POTATO PLASTIC keeps experimenting with this interesting biodegradable material which decomposes in around two months.

The energy consumption that is required to produce potato starch is much less compared to plastic. The production of conventional polypropylene plastic requires around 20 000 kWh/ton material compared to only 200 kWh/ton needed to produce potato starch.

Also the carbon dioxide emission is much lower. Potato production emits around 0.1 kg CO2/ kg whereas polypropylene production emits around 2 kg CO2/kg.

Attitude Organic

Attitude Organic is an online community giving support, directions & knowledge about a healthy, eco-responsible & sustainable lifestyle.

Marine, the founder is very passionate and authentic about her mission. She is aware of all the greenwashing around and her aim is to support people during their own sustainable journey.

In the knowledge section of this incredible resourceful website there are many tips & guides including an interview with us.

Unplastify

Exploration + Education + Action!

This is the motto of the social enterprise Unplastify located in Buenos Aires and New York.

In May 2018 the team set sail on the sailboat Fanky (named after a song by Charly García) from New York to Gibraltar which they documented in their adventurous journey logbook. On the high seas they took plastic samples from the most remote places to contribute to scientific research on plastic pollution in the oceans. After 27 days at sea (56 days total from New York), two stops (in Bermuda and the Azores) and 3,700 nautical miles, they reached their destination, Gibraltar.

In Europe they interviewed experts and industry leaders with their different points of view to explore solutions to the problem of plastic waste. 

Today Unplastify transforms its experience into action by identifying circular economy solutions and alternatives to disposable plastic. And they organize the educational program Unplastify Schools Challenge in South America with the support of National Geographic adding to its global #PlanetaoPlastico campaign.

Let’s change the human relationship with plastic. It is out of control. The problem is not the material but its use and abuse.

Citizen Coke

Bartow J. Elmore - born and raised in Coke country Atlanta/Georgia -teaches at the Ohio State University, where he is assistant professor of environmental history and member of the Sustainable and Resilient Economy Discovery Group.

He wrote the highly acclaimed and awarded book Citizen Coke about the environmental history of Coca-Cola capitalism, which explains the connection between The Real Thing and the real ecological impacts. The book illuminates the massive carbon-, water-, sugar-, caffeine- plastic-, and social footprint this company, which is producing approx. 120 billion plastic bottles every year, leaves all over the world.

Interestingly, there was over decades a well-functioning glass bottle reuse-system in place, which was pulled back in the 1970’s for one simple reason: Plastic bottles promised more profit. See this French documentary about the topic as a trailer or in full length.

Growing Polyhydroxyalkanoates

Mango Materials is a start-up company working to produce biobased and biodegradable polymers from waste greenhouse gases.

At a pilot facility located at a wastewater treatment plant in Redwood City, California, the company is using waste methane to feed bacteria that can produce fully biodegradable bio-polyester fibers.

Founder & CEO Molly Morse and her team are currently working at two possible applications: Textiles and bottle caps.

Melt, mold, make, mend.

Formcard is the brainchild of British Artist & Designer Peter Marigold. Is is a pocket sized card of meltable bio-plastic that you can use to make, fix and modify the world around you. Just drop it in a cup of hot water and then you can mold it quickly to make little solutions to everyday problems. By simply reheating it you can reuse it again and again.  

Yes, Formcard is plastic, but it is a starch-based bio-degradeable plastic. And it can be used to fix and reuse broken plastic products and extending their lifespan. Peter Marigold runs creative workshops where you can explore the potential of its applications. See also how Peter uses this versatile material in his artistic work.

Peel Saver

The Italian designers Pietro Gaeli, Simone Caronni and Paolo Stefano Gentile came up with a brilliant idea for a project in their course ''sustainable design / materials & technologies'' led by professor Barbara Pollini at the Nuova Academia dell Arte (NABA) in Milano, Italy.

Fries companies produce a lot of potato peels as waste. Why not use the peels to create a cool and eco-friendly street food packaging which replaces plasticized paper packaging? Potato peels consist of starches and fibers components. After maceration and natural drying it is an ideal street food packaging material. Nothing has to be added. This way it can be re-inserted in the biological cycle as animal food or fertilizer for plants.

And PeelSaver is an aesthetic and natural way to present the food: The Fries are served in the same peel that originally protected the potato. The Motto: Return to simplicity and use what nature already designed for us!

Objetos Cultivados

Industrial Designer Silvio Tinello from Argentina is a pioneer in biofabrication design by using culturally rooted substances as Yerba Mate as a nutrient for biofabricated materials and products like lighting, furniture, fashion accessories and even footwear.

Throughout his career Silvio has won several awards and also participated in numerous fairs and exhibitions all over the world. Being a former Fulbright scholar and Master Alumni in Sustainability Design at the University of Philadephia his approach is to combine science and design. He continues his Biofabrication activities at the Genspace community biolab in New York.

He is teaching at the University of San Andres in Buenos Aires and is active in a community project called "Art in neighborhoods", the first biofabrication laboratory in vulnerable neighborhoods in the city of Buenos Aires.

From Peel to Peel

In her project From Peel to Peel Italian designer Emma Sicher makes eco-responsible food packaging by fermenting microbial cellulose, a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeasts with fruit and vegetable leftovers.

She experiments with skins from different fruits and vegetables like apples, potatoes, beetroot, grape pomace and beer hops to create different colors and textures of the material.

Emma Sicher took inspiration from Italian artist, designer & inventor Bruno Munari who said, "Nature is the first producer of packaging in the world: every peel, shell or skin aims to protect its content."

She adds: "Today most food gets packaged in materials that are engineered to last forever and most of the food has a much shorter life cycle in comparison to its containers. By developing a packaging that follows the natural principle of acting as a peel for its content, we get closer to nature again. “

Emma envisions a global scenario where food packages are produced regionally by up-cycling local organic waste, creating a more effective circular economy.

Sweet sweet sugarcane

Eco Island Packaging from Antigua makes food containers out of 100% biodegradeable, unbleached and locally sourced sugarcane.

The founder, Ronda Boertmann Akande has a very personal story to tell:

“I have always considered the Caribbean to be the most beautiful place on earth and its time we all come together to keep it that way. Let’s do our part by stopping the use of “Styrofoam” and other harmful products because we want our children to grow up with the same beauty that past generations have seen”.

Eco Island Packaging is Ronda’s active contribution of tackling the environmental challenges in the Caribbean.

Two Farmers

Truly passionate about the Herefordshire countryside that has enabled them to grow award-winning potatoes, Sean and Mark met one night for a pint of local beer and a packet of crisps. They hatched out a plan of how to honour and celebrate their own potatoes. That night the Two Farmers brand was born.

They are producers of delicious hand-cooked crisps using potatoes that they grow, harvest, store, cook and pack using renewable energy generated on their farm. And they became the first crisp brand in the UK to launch a 100% compostable bag.

Built not to last

Why are we still making packaging with desired lifetimes of an hour, a day or a week out of materials that last hundreds of years?

This is the question that prompted the founders at wastebased to start their company. They make biodegradable packaging for the on‑demand economy. Their (e-co)mmerce mail bags are compostable, strong, waterproof, reusable and non-toxic.

Their ecopackaging 101 guide explains very well the pros and cons of different packaging solutions.

Designed in common sense with nature

Núria Vila is a graphic designer and art director specializing in corporative identity, packaging design and visual communication, based in Barcelona.

She has a multidisciplinary design approach with a focus on sustainable projects. Her motto is: RETHINK - REDUCE - RECYCLE - RELAB.

One wonderful project amongst many others is the brand creation and packaging design for “Del Montseny” an artisanal, natural and ecologic cosmetic brand using collected plants in the flower season in Montseny. It applies a refill concept and a circular economy approach: The dried plants are used to protect the products during shipment.

Núria was also the Curator for the exhibition “Plàstic, genial o pervers?” at the Museu Vida Rural in 2019.

Who gives a crap

Did you know that toilet paper usually contains plastic? Well, not the toilet paper made by the Australian social start-up company Who Gives a Crap which began as a crowdfunding campaign back in 2012. They use bamboo and recycled paper as materials and wrap the paper rolls in plastic-free packaging. And the three founders are on a social mission. They donate 50% of their profits to build toilets for those in need. For more information watch their latest impact update video.

From cup to paper

The British papermaker G. F. SMITH developed a pioneering new paper called Extract, that tackles the global problem of disposable coffee cups that are lined with plastic.

In the United Kingdom about 7 million coffee-to-go cups are used every day. Yet less than 1 in 400 of those cups get recycled. G. F. SMITH partnered with James Cropper plc. to offer a solution by design: From disposable cup to beautiful paper.

G. F. SMITHS’ message is the following: ‘Extract is not the total solution to the one-time-use coffee cup problem, but it is our contribution to offer a smart design solution as a paper maker. Upcycling addresses only the problem and not the cause, but we like to kickstart new conversations about sustainability in the paper industry. Extract is a paper we had to make, but hope to discontinue.’

Using nature as a role model for new materials

FLAM - a fungal-like adhesive material - with cellulose and chitin as its base components is strong, lightweight, inexpensive and most importantly: 100% Biodegradable. Designed and fabricated by Associate Professsor Stlylianos Dritsas from Architecture and Sustainable Design and Assistant Professor Javier G. Fernandez from Engineering Product Development, this fascinating material is the result of a multi-disciplinary research endeavour at the Fermat Lab of the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD).

WellBag – The eco-smart alternative to plastic bags

The German company Klingele Papierwerke - an innovative supplier of paper & corrugated cardboard packaging solutions - designed the Wellbag, made of 100% sustainable raw materials. It can be re-used many times to carry shopping goods, store things or serve as a home decoration item. In contrast to comparable sturdy paper bags it does not need any additional cords, fasteners or reinforcements and can easily carry up to 5 kg.

Eco responsible 3D print material

The bio-degradeable material PLA (Polylactic Acid) which is typically produced from fermented corn or sugarcane starch is one of the most commonly used materials in 3D Printing.

The 3D Printing supplier 3D TOMORROW has made this material even more eco efficient by offering recycled PLA made from the waste streams of the conventional filament extrusion process. The high quality product called ECO PLA shares the benefits of all the 3D TOMORROW filaments: It is supplied on a 100% recyclable cardboard spool.

ECO & BEYOND

The internet community ECO & BEYOND has the mission to help everyone make more sustainable choices by listing eco-friendly solutions. You will find an Interactive Directory of zero-waste and plastic-free shops.

The section “Less plastic” gives a very good insight into the topic explaining the 3R rule Reduce - Reuse - Recycle and the term Circular Economy where resources are kept in use as long as possible and the goal is to upcycle, reuse and mend items instead of throwing them away. Also worth reading is the Article on “eco friendly” packaging.

100% Cellulose - lightweight and durable

The German company kraftplex offers a completely biodegradable sheet material made of 100% cellulose which is flexible and shapeable like metal, pastics or composite material.

The high-quality fibres come from sustainably cultivated stocks of softwood. The production process is unique and uses nothing but water, pressure and heat; no chemical additives, bleaches or binding agents are needed. The characteristic of being electrically isolating makes it a good alternative to conventional plastic sheets. It can be cut with laser or water-jet, drilled, perforated and adhered. The version with a corrugated surface is called wellboard.

From waste to materials

MakeGrowLab grows materials and and develops systems that won't litter the environment but enrich it instead.

SCOBY is a home-compostable packaging solution which grows from bio-waste and TransLeather is a unique leather alternative, which is 100% plastic-free and vegan.

Read the amazing story of the founders, who see themselves as Future Farmers of the BioRevolution Movement. Their manifesto is: At MakeGrowLab we do not only produce materials but also spread the BioRevolution by education, inspiration, and collaboration. It means working with nature, not against it by merging the interdisciplinary approach of humanities, design, science, and engineering.

Artwork made of plastic trash

The Rhode Island based artist Thomas Deininger creates mind-bending sculptural objects assembled of recovered plastic parts.

“Most of the content I was exploring involved mass consumerism, pop culture and environmental concerns. So really the medium easily became the message. I question beauty, value, and perception and how the three concepts do this little dance that changes how we all relate to the (physical and spiritual) world and how reality is just an illusion we all settle on for a time”

Thomas Deiniger

14 Women, 3000 Miles, X Trillion pieces of plastic trash

X Trillion follows the journey of 14 women as they sail a gruelling 3000 miles across the North Pacific Ocean to one of the most remote places on Earth, but also the location of the densest accumulation of ocean plastic - the North Pacific Gyre, or the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. 

A crew of scientists to packaging designers, engineers, teachers, artists and more, they carry out cutting edge research into the impacts of plastics and microplastics both on the natural world and on human health, and explore the practical and emotional responses to one of the biggest global challenges of our time. 

​This is a story of hope, filled with life, magic and a call to action that burns with optimism.

Turning used coffee grounds into a cup

Product designer Julian Lechner was intrigued by the idea of creating something new and lasting out of supposed waste, so he began experimenting with coffee grounds. Three years later, he had discovered the unique formula: recycled coffee grounds and renewable raw materials were transformed into the durable, robust material Kaffeeform. Which then became the Kaffeeform cup.

Growing better materials

ECOVATIVE DESIGN uses mycelium, the root structure of mushrooms, to grow materials, that replace plastic.

The company develops high performing packaging solutions which are cost competitive with conventional foams and 100% home compostable.

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Do you like to have your project showcased? We will be happy to hear from you.