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

Gum-tec

Chewing Gum Recycling – Gumdrop Ltd. has set itself the goal of eliminating rubber emissions by recycling all types of chewing gum waste and processing it into a variety of products in collaboration with companies and manufacturers worldwide. In a new process, the recycled chewing gum is turned into the material Gum-tec, which can be processed into items[...]

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MILK MaterialLab gum tec Gumdrop

Cooking New Materials

Material From Organic Waste – With the Cooking new materials project, food waste such as banana or orange peels or even soy milk is given a new function by being transformed into a leather-like material made from bio-waste. The substance bonded with a natural binder to form a substrate has high resistance in contact with water. With their aesthetic[...]

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MILK MaterialLab Biowaste Material younyang song

Algae Offset Ink

Algae Printing Ink – This algae-based ink replaces petroleum-derived pigments used in conventional offset ink and have a much smaller carbon footprint. The project was carried out jointly by the Patagonia brand and Living Ink. After a successful test run, 8,000 brochures were printed on a 100% PCW recycled paper. Living Ink. has been working on algae-based ink[...]

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MILK MaterialLab Algae Offset Ink Cast Iron

GRASPAP

Paper From Grass – GRASPAP is a purely mechanically but particularly sustainably produced natural fiber that is processed without the use of chemical additives or water. In addition to these ecological and economic aspects, the new fiber is characterized by special properties for paper production: It serves as a supplementary raw material for pulp or groundwood pulp and[...]

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Waste Vault Pavilion

Pavilion made from recycled beverage cartons – On the occasion of the IDEAS City Festival in New York in 2015, beverage cartons were cut up and pressed into plates by heat. These formed an environmentally friendly pavilion that had tremendous strength due to the plastic coating on the recycled cardboard. The recycling concept was developed and implemented by Prof. Dirk Hebel[...]

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MILK MaterialLab Waste Vault Pavilion ETH Zuerich

Ocean Bottle

Plastic bottle thermos – With its reusable water bottle, the Ocean Bottle company is making a contribution to counteracting the increasing plastic pollution of the oceans. Made from recycled biomaterial and plastic waste, the Ocean Bottle itself can dive into the recycling loop. The recycling idea is complemented by the promise that 1,000 more plastic bottles will be[...]

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MILK MaterialLab Ocean Bottle Ocean Plastik Bottle

Milk Protein Packaging

Edible
Packaging
film from milk proteins
– As a natural component of milk, casein is involved in the formation of cheese or curd, i.e. in the solidification of these. Scientists in Peggy Tomasula’s research group at the American Chemical Society (ACS) have succeeded in using these proteins to create a net-like structure that allows the fabric – rolled out thinly and[...]

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MILK MaterialLab Milchprotein ACS

Wine Matters

Paper labels From grape marc – With Wine Matters, Ludovica Cantarelli uses her family’s vineyards to explore how waste streams generated during winemaking can be better utilized and positively add to the final product. The solution: the reuse of grape marc. Through a new artisan process, the grape skins and branches become an aesthetic packaging for the wine. Pressing the[...]

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PULP Collection

Vessels from paper waste – PULP is a collection of containers made from paper waste, produced from the positive form of discarded containers. This collection is based on research into alternative material recovery from paper waste. The result: the development of a new material that made it possible to make the vessels water-resistant by combining the material with cellulose[...]

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MILK MaterialLab Pulp Collection Studio Jo Meesters

Naku Bio Bag & PLA Bottle

Biodegradable carrier bags & bottles – NaKu Bio-Bag (carrier bag) The compostable bag, made from natural plastic, is an alternative to traditional plastic bags made from corn starch and the waste from sunflower hulls. The NaKu company succeeded in processing the large quantities of leftovers from the food industry into plastic-free and environmentally friendly products. The resulting sacks were produced[...]

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SUPERHALM

Edible drinking straw – The German company Wisefood has realized the mission of a plastic-free drinking straw with its SUPERHALM. The edible SUPERHALM, made from natural ingredients, wants to put an end to the mass of disposed plastic drinking straws. Because over a billion of them are thrown away every day. In addition to fruit fibers and cereals,[...]

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MILK MaterialLab Superhalm Wisefood