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Agar Plasticity

Packing based on seaweed – Agar Plasticity is a materials research project investigating agar as an alternative to synthetic plastics. Agar is a traditional Japanese foodstuff that is often used to make sweets. However, it is also used worldwide in the scientific and medical fields. It is mainly sold in its driedstate 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, yogurt pots 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

Bio-Flex

Bioplastic
for flexible film applications – The bioplastic from Bio-Flex is basedpartly, and sometimes completely, on natural raw materials (e.g. corn, sugar cane or castor oil) and is therefore used for various film applications in the food industry. The certified biodegradability allows Bio-Flex to be used in the agricultural industry. Decomposable plant clips are thus a way to plow under[...]

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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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Chicory plastic

Plastic from
chicory waste – Chicory is known as a salad, less 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. Researchers at the University of Hohenheim have discovered the chicory root as a resource for obtaining hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), one of the[...]

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MILK MaterialLab Chicorée Hochschule Hohenheim

Bio-Lutions

Tableware from natural fibers – Only raw materials such as banana stems, bagasse and rice straw, which cannot be consumed as food and therefore do not require land use, are used for BIO-LUTIONS products. The disposable tableware and packaging solution are manufactured using a mechanical process that eliminates pulp extractions and bleaching. Thisefficient process saves on chemicals and water.[...]

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WikiCells

Edible packaging
made from fruit – 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

Gum-tec

Chewing gum recycling – Gumdrop Ltd. has set itself the goal of eliminating gum emissions by recycling all types of chewing gum waste and processing it into a variety of products in cooperation with global companies and manufacturers. A new process is used to develop the sustainable material Gum-tec from recycled chewing gum, which can be processed into[...]

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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[...]

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Cooking New Materials

Material from organic waste – The Cooking new materials project gives food waste such as banana or orange peel or soy milk a new function by transforming it into a leather-like material made from organic waste. The substance bonded with a natural binder to form a substrate has high resistance in contact with water. With their aesthetic design, the[...]

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MILK MaterialLab Biowaste Material younyang song

Algae Offset Ink

Printing ink based on algae – This algae-based printing ink replaces petroleum-derived pigments used in conventional offset printing inks. The project was carried out jointly by the Patagonia brand and the company Living Ink. After a successful test run, 8000 brochures were printed on a 100% PCW recycled paper. Living Ink. has been working on algae ink since 2013 and[...]

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MILK MaterialLab Algae Offset Ink Cast Iron