Back Back to home

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[...]

Learn more

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[...]

Learn more

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[...]

Learn more

MILK MaterialLab MonoSol MonoSol

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[...]

Learn more

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[...]

Learn more

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[...]

Learn more

MILK MaterialLab Chicorée Hochschule Hohenheim

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[...]

Learn more

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[...]

Learn more

MILK MaterialLab WikiCell David Edwards

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[...]

Learn more

MILK MaterialLab gum tec Gumdrop

Compostable paper

Compostable Paper – Compostella natural paper is an extremely pure special paper that can be used as an alternative for cling film, aluminum foil, baking paper and wrapping film. The 100% compostable natural paper is made solely from water, cellulose and sugar. Only passing through a mechanical manufacturing process, the paper – without coating, varnishing or impregnation[...]

Learn more

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[...]

Learn more

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[...]

Learn more

MILK MaterialLab Algae Offset Ink Cast Iron