Get Ready for Eco-Friendly Furniture from Fruit Peels! 🍫🪚
Ever wondered what happens to 92.8% of the materials we use, without them being recycled or reused, resulting in waste? Well, this is a daunting figure that 7.2% of us should be cheering for! That's because, out of all the materials used, only a tiny fraction gets repurposed, eliminate waste, without causing it.
Meet the game-changers taking on this challenge - Krill Design, a furniture maker based in Milan, Italy. With a vision to transform the recycling game, they're producing furniture from a patented bio-material dubbed as Rekrill. This material is claimed to be fully biodegradable, biologically breakable, and recyclable 🌱✅
Founded by three architects, two of whom had already established a 3D-printing company, Krill Design takes advantage of compost collected from Italian businesses, namely orange peels and coffee grounds. These leftovers can smoothly replace conventional plastic furniture, finding a new home in various offices ceasing to be waste!
Their range of products includes desk accessories, stools, clocks, bowls, and a lamp named Ohmie. So, "Throw away your old chairs in just three or four years, would ya?" asks Marco Di Maio, Krill's Operations Manager. "But if all our furniture were made from our materials, we could recycle, shred, and 3D-print new ones from the same material! If one of our materials accidentally lands in the sea, it's biodegradable and won't produce microplastics."
Krill follows a four-step manufacturing process. Commencing with drying and grinding of food waste, the material is then mixed with a biodegradable alternative to plastic, namely Polyhydroxybutyrat (PHB) 🔬🔧. As Krill claims, it further hardens the PHB with the fruit waste. Subsequently, the mixture transforms into fibers, which are then incorporated into a 3D-printer's spool. The Ohmie lamp's printing time is approximately three hours; however, the time may vary for different products.
Ever dreamed of being an innovator? That's exactly what Di Maio revealed, saying: "There are many design companies out there, but we wanted to be different."
Krill partners with well-known brands like Sanpellegrino and Four Seasons Hotels, significantly contributing to waste reduction. Together, they've worked on projects like creating plant holders, tablets, beverage holders, and organizers in colors matching the food waste materials they were made from, such as bright orange for orange peels and rich, dark brown for coffee grounds.
Di Maio highlighted that by repurposing fruit peels and coffee grounds, one kilogram of Rekrill would offset one kilogram of CO2 emissions from plastic manufacturing, as vast quantities of edible waste end up in landfires or incinerators!
Additionally, Rekrill is as strong as wood, doesn't start to decompose without water, bugs, or acid. Moreover, it's harmless to marine life and can also be composted at home.
Yet, Di Maio conceded that, despite its eco-benefits, Rekrill's high production costs indicate a price tag six times higher than most conventional plastic.
He hopes that, in a few years, Rekrill would become widespread, compelling more consumers and companies to face the consequences of non-sustainable plastic production.
Biodegradable Plastics- the Future is Here!
While biodegradable plastic makes up less than 1% of all annually produced 390 million tons of plastic, it's a rapidly growing industry, with applications in areas as diverse as food packaging, textiles, and electronics. Additionally, several firms are developing innovative solutions, like British company Polymateria, claiming to have created "the world's first self-destructing plastic", which disintegrates into wax, fully organic when it comes into contact with soil.
Joe Iles, Head of Circular Design at environmental organization Ellen MacArthur Foundation (snubbed for participation in Krill Project), while addressing concerns around home compostability of biodegradable plastics, said: "It's tricky when it comes to biodegradable plastics. Without the appropriate settings, they might not compost properly. In a 2022 UK study, it was noted that 60% of products labeled as compostable plastic failed to decompose fully in home compost."
Iles further highlighted that some new biodegradable plastics may not be suitable for local recycling systems.
Despite these complications, Iles endorsed the encouragement and appreciation towards firms endeavoring to build a more circular economy. "We need pioneers who experiment and sometimes face failures, but we will get it right sooner or later!"
