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Agar Plasticity

Packing Based On Seaweed – “Agar Plasticity” is a materials research project exploring agar as an alternative to synthetic plastics. Agar is a traditional Japanese food that is often used to make sweets. However, it is also used worldwide in the scientific and medical fields. It is sold mainly in dried state in the form of blocks, flakes and[...]

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Styrofoam decomposing mealworms

Plastic-Eating Organisms – While mealworms normally feed on wheat bran, biologists at Stanford University and Peking University have given them polystyrene – a form of plastic foam – instead. Mostly, this material is used for polystyrene packaging, yoghurt cups or cable insulation. In a test experiment, the worms ate the material completely – approx. 40 mg per[...]

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MILK MaterialLab Mehlwürmer Frauenhofer Institut

Cartamela apple paper

Paper From Apple Scraps – Since 2003, the South Tyrolean company FRUMAT has been drying and grinding the cellulose-containing fruit residues from apple juice production (so-called apple pomace) in order to produce natural paper from them. Nearly half a million tons of these fruit wastes accumulate in the European region every year and, due to their fungal hazard, have[...]

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MILK MaterialLab Car

Bio-Flex

Bioplastic For Flexible Film Applications – Bio-Flex bioplastic is based partly, sometimes entirely, on natural raw materials (e.g. corn, sugar cane or castor oil) and therefore serves various film applications in the food industry. The certified biodegradability allows it to be used in the agricultural industry. Decomposable plant clips are thus a way to plow under the bioplastics without having[...]

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Tuesa

Birch bark antiseptic containers – Anastasiya Koshcheeva’s storage boxes “Tuesa” are truly unique due to the natural birch bark and regional cedar wood. The oils contained in the natural materials ensure a long freshness of the stored food. The modern design was developed and handmade in Siberia. The aesthetic and practical focus is especially on the birch bark, which[...]

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NACHHÄLTER

Wood cellulose compostable packaging – NACHHÄLTER are 100% recyclable and fully compostable packaging solutions whose raw material is created from forestry cuttings. For material recovery, viscose (soluble) is first extracted from the pulp, which is filtered through a pouring nozzle and runs into a precipitation bath, after which a transparent film of pure regenerated cellulose is produced. The Grünkunft[...]

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Chicory Plastic

Plastic From Chicory Waste – Chicory is known as a salad, not so much as a raw material for plastics. The root of the plant usually ends up in the composting plant. Only a fraction is used to produce biogas from it. Researchers at the University of Hohenheim have discovered the chicory root as a resource for obtaining hydroxymethylfurfural[...]

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MILK MaterialLab Chicorée Hochschule Hohenheim

Sulapac

Packages
from wood chips and biopolymers – Sulapac® biodegradable packaging is based on a mixture of wood chips and bio-polymer. The material is increasingly used in the cosmetics industry. Sulapac® is produced by means of industrial composting, which does not require the use of any water or chemicals and is therefore a particularly environmentally friendly recycling process. With this innovation, Sulapac®[...]

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MILK MaterialLab Sulapac Sulapac

Bio-Lutions

Tableware From Natural Fibers – BIO-LUTIONS uses only non-consumable raw materials such as banana stems, bagasse and rice straw in their products. By using such bi-products, they are able to abstain from the need for agricultural land. The disposable tableware and packaging solution are manufactured using a mechanical process that eliminates pulp extractions and bleaching. This process is aimed[...]

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WikiCells

Edible packaging
From fruits – Originally conceived as an experiment, Harvard professor David Edwards’ edible packaging allows consumers to consume a wide variety of foods with less waste. The Gelatine WikiCells membrane shell is an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional plastic packaging due to its natural ingredients such as alginate and chitosan, as well as its plant-based additives. By[...]

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MILK MaterialLab WikiCell David Edwards

Fungi Mutarium

Plastic Eating Fungus – The prototype Fungi Mutarium enables the cultivation of a fungal biomass that is suitable for consumption, in addition to its amazing ability to degrade long-lasting plastic waste. Specially designed agar forms based on a mixture of starch and sugar, known as “FU”, serve as the nutrient base for the fungus. In shape they resemble[...]

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MILK MaterialLab Fungi Muratium

Ponto Biodesign

Bacterial Cellulose Film – Ponto Biodesign offers a sustainable alternative to plastic-based packaging materials. It is obtained from a mixture consisting of water, bacterial and yeast cultures (scoby), which – spread on a smooth surface and dried – produces a bacterial cellulose film with paper-like properties. On contact with water, the material develops an adhesive effect that can[...]

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MILK MaterialLab Ponto Biodesign Elena Amato