According to the definition of the European Bioplastics Association, "bioplastic" is a collective term for bio-based plastics and biodegradable plastics, that is, at least one of the "bio-based" or "biodegradable" characteristics can be considered as a bioplastic.
This kind of plastic consumes little fossil fuels, does not contain toxic substances such as polyvinyl chloride and phthalates, is renewable and degradable, can greatly reduce pollution and damage to the environment, and is an important alternative to traditional plastics.
In recent years, from food packaging to electronic product shells, bioplastics have been gradually applied to a variety of daily consumer goods.
part 01
Plastic wrap that degrades within 180 days
Plastic wrap is one of the most common plastic products in the kitchen.
Traditional plastic wrap cannot be degraded, and after being buried, the plasticizers in the plastic may penetrate into the soil and water, and enter the human body, threatening people's health.
The plastic wrap in the picture is called greatest wrap and was developed by an Australian biomaterials company.
They first produced a mucosa by extracting and plasticizing the starch from the discarded potato skins, and then mixed the starch mucosa with used cooking oil and starchy root vegetables such as cassava, changing its polymer structure to make it stretchable and achieve the same effect as plastic wrap.
Because the main ingredient is starch, the plastic wrap decomposes in landfills or industrial compost within 180 days.
part 02
"Self-produced and self-sold" meat skin packaging
In some countries, meat skins are considered a by-product of the meat industry, and there is a certain amount of waste.
Icelandic design studio AT10 believes that since we need to eat meat, we should be as responsible as possible and use all the resources we can to reduce the pollution of the earth.
To do this, they boiled the skins of various local edible animals and extracted the gelatin-like substance produced by the collagen and gelatin released during the process, making a bioplastic packaging for meat products such as hot dog sausages.
In this way, the designers hope to encourage more people to include whole animals, not just edible parts, in the process of production and consumption, and to rethink their relationship with food resources.
part 03
Vinyl record recording "Eco Sound".
The 12-inch vinyl record pictured was produced by ** and sustainability group Evolution Music.
The team spent nearly four years finding a bio-organic filler that could replace the PVC material used in traditional vinyl records, and would not affect the sound quality of the film or produce harmful substances, and developed a solid additive for bioplastics to ensure that the new material could be adapted to the same production process as traditional records.
The album contains many songs composed by people who are concerned about ecological protection, and the proceeds of the record are donated to various non-profit organizations to combat climate change.
part 04
Room dividers with natural scents
Design studio Crafting Plastics and Office MMK have teamed up to develop a room partition made of 3D printing technology and bioplastics that resembles a pattern of coral and leaves, can be adjusted to the user's preferences and biodegradable within 60-120 days of the end of its life cycle.
Since the bioplastic is made of cornstarch and sugar, when heated, the material has a baked bread aroma, which gave the designers a new inspiration: ordinary plastic products have no taste, and if you can create a pleasant smell for bioplastics, consumers can associate them with natural things, so as to choose more environmentally friendly bioplastic products.
part 05
Peeled and edible juice bottles
The juice bottle, called Goneshells, is a prototype of a package developed by Tomorrow Machine in collaboration with eckes granini, a fruit juice beverage company, to solve the problem of plastic packaging contamination that exists in most beverages: "the liquid is drunk in 3 minutes, and the bottle is still there 30 years later".
The entire bottle is made of potato starch-based material, and the interior and exterior are coated with a bio-based waterproof barrier to preserve the juice.
If you look closely, you will see that the top half of the bottle is spiral-shaped.
After drinking the juice, consumers can peel the bioplastic into a long strip in the direction of the spiral like peeling a fruit, a process that breaks the waterproof barrier, and then puts it in water or compost it to biodecompose the bottle.
part 06
Jacket raincoat made of large seaweed
Many fashion designers are experimenting with making clothes from bioplastics, but many designs are still at the level of "fashion" and have limited scope of application in daily life.
The exception to this is the already plastic-based raincoat, pictured here is a jacket-style raincoat made from bioplastic by New York-based designer Charlotte McCurdy, made entirely of biopolymers derived from macroalgae in the ocean, bonded together by heat, cured in a custom mold, and coated with a thin layer of plant-based wax to make it waterproof.
With this raincoat that can withstand heavy rain, the designer hopes to call on more people that we already have the tools and technology we need to fight the climate crisis.
part 07
Make the "intruder" into an alarm clock shell
Invasive alien species can alter or even endanger native biodiversity.
At a time when many of the UK's rivers are being taken over by a species of crab from Asia, Jeongwon Ji, a graduate of the Royal College of Art, believes that they should be used as a resource rather than being cleaned up as garbage.
So she extracted chitin from the shells of invading crabs, combined it with water and a small amount of glycerin to solidify it, creating a completely non-toxic bioplastic, which she used as a plastic case for electronic devices such as alarm clocks, humidifiers, computer trackpads, flashlights, and WiFi routers.
Due to technical limitations, the material will be deformed to a certain extent when cured, but this roughness adds a touch of "natural organic" temperament to electronic devices.
part 08
A "new mission" given to expired eggs
According to FAO, global egg production has grown steadily over the past two decades, from about 510,000 tonnes in 2000 to nearly 870,000 tonnes in 2020.
At the same time, more than 17% of the world's food is wasted every year, including eggs that have a short shelf life and are easy to break during processing and transportation.
To do this, German designer Basse Stittgen collected a large number of expired eggs, mixed dehydrated and ground egg whites with eggshells pressed into small pieces, and put them in aluminum molds and hot pressed them at 200 degrees, resulting in a series of protein-based bioplastic cutlery that did not require any additional plasticizers.
In this way, the designers want to remind consumers that every resource is precious and fragile, and needs to be handled with care, just like an egg.
Text: Zhu Lin. Photo courtesy of the Internet, if it is infringing, please delete it.