Banana peel

KUORI

In recent years, it has been increasingly expressed that alternatives, for example, animal leather or non-degradable plastic must be seriously considered. The causes of global warming and climate change are well known and are predominantly anthropogenic. The consumption of natural resources and of non-degradable materials, the pollution of nature, the production of greenhouse gases, and species extinction are on an unprecedented scale.

KUORI: Upcycling of organic waste material from the banana peel.

The import of bananas in Switzerland has increased continuously over the last decades. In 2019, it amounted to approximately 97,000 tons with a net worth of 104 million Swiss Francs. A large proportion of bananas are not utilised by consumers and are thrown away, or do not reach them at all. In terms of general food waste, it should be emphasised that 1/3 of the banana fruit consists of the peel.

KUORI works to further process the banana peels, expand the cycle of the banana fruit and significantly reduce the amount of food waste. Bananas are one of the most popular fruits in Switzerland and are offered to the consumer exclusively through imports throughout the year. This has an enormous ecological and economic impact. Why don't we pay more attention to this actual waste product, when we already transport the bananas 20-30 days steadily cooled to Europe?

The areas of peel application are very diverse. Depending on the processing and use of different components, KUORI can be applied both as a material in the textile sector, as a sustainable single-use object, in the packaging sector or in 3D printing.

Four different products were created from the banana peel through different production methods and testing. One successful experiment, for example, was the production of a 3D filament and a 3D printed cylinder. Due to the fibrous composite of the banana peel, the resulting object has a higher stability compared to ordinary PLA (Polylactide). So why not print with food waste in the future?

Please Note: Only food waste from the banana industry within Switzerland was used for the experiments.

The initiative @Mehralszwei from Zurich (procurement & processing of bananas) and the @Öpfelfarm from Thurgau (drying of banana peels) supported this project.

In order to be able to apply sustainability to the context of banana production in the best possible way, only fair trade and organic bananas were used.

The KUORI concept was developed as part of a bachelor's degree program at the Institute of Industrial Design in Basel.

Text submitted by the maker and edited by the Future Materials Bank. For information about reproducing (a part of) this text, please contact the maker.