Food waste

Alimenta

Alimenta is a material experimentation project conducted by designer Riccardo Cenedella, which explores turning food waste into a biobased material.

Food is everything that is taken in by humans and used to keep them alive. However, in Europe, on average half a kilo of food per day is thrown away. This means 89 million tons of food is wasted each year.

In this project, the designer developed an ad hoc material using food waste. The outcomes question our notion of waste and production and show the possibilities of discarded materials. The design ethos of the project centres around the idea of creating what is yet to come – with what is already here.

Making process

The food waste produced in the household is blended, dried and smashed into powder. Subsequently, according to a recipe developed by the designer, this is mixed with salt and water, shaped and fired at a low temperature. After the firing, the material obtains good strength and the texture shows imperfections due to the variety of food waste.

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.