Piñatex

Leather From Pineapple Scraps – Piñatex was developed by the British company Ananas Anam, a manufacturer of natural textiles from the by-products of the pineapple harvest. With her development, Dr. Carmen Hijosa not only wanted to give an unappreciated waste a use, but also to generate maximum benefit with the smallest possible ecological footprint. The cradle-to-cradle aspect was a[...]

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MILK MaterialLab Ananas Aman Piñatex Dr. Carmen Hijosa MILK-MaterialLab-Ananas-Aman-Piñatex-Dr.-Carmen-Hijosa-7

Coffee Cup Paper “Extract”

Decorative Papers From Recycled Coffee-To-Go Cups – How recycled coffee-to-go cups can be turned into attractive paper is demonstrated by the British company G.F Smith with its Extract project. Used disposable coffee cups are separated into their plastic and paper components for production, and in the subsequent step an FSC-certified paper is obtained in collaboration with CupCycling by James Cropper. Approximately[...]

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Ventri – Cow Stomach

Cow Stomach Textured Leather – Dutch designer Billie van Katwijk produces special handbags from cow stomachs using an elaborate tanning process. For her project Ventri, luxurious accessories are created from the slaughterhouse leftovers that were previously processed into dog food. Particularly surprising is the visual appeal and extraordinary texture of the waste product. Accordingly, the different properties of the[...]

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Coconut Water Leather

Leather From Coconut Water – To produce the biodegradable and waterproof Coconut Water Leather, the coconut water, which is a waste product of coconut processing, is sterilized. The natural substance obtained from this serves as a nutrient for the bacterial culture in the subsequent 12-14 day fermentation process. Once the process is complete, the leaf cellulose jelly obtained can[...]

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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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naturesse

Disposable Tableware Made From Organic Raw Materials – With naturesse, Pacovis produces sustainable disposable tableware and packaging that is plastic-free and 100% biodegradable. The materials processed for naturesse are based on renewable raw materials from the agricultural industry or on rapidly renewable plant-based raw materials such as bamboo. The focus is on a sensible appreciation of fossil resources – with the intention[...]

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MILK MaterialLab Naturesse Pacovis

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

MonoSol

Water Soluble Film – The material of MonoSol, which is mainly used for the production of detergent pods, can be described as a water-soluble film. The application of the film with these pods offers on the one hand the advantage of easy dosage and on the other hand a dissolving of the film in a short time without[...]

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MILK MaterialLab MonoSol MonoSol

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

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