Material

Organic waste

By

Made in

Biodegradable 235 Board material 31 Circular 219 Composite 99 Plant-based 171 Recyclable 119 Recycled 123 Vegan 89 Organic waste 4 Pine needle 3 Vegetable peel 2

Organic waste

Photos: Tania Malréchauffé

Organic Waste Materials

The future should be where waste is a resource and not harmful to the environment. With a 100% organic binder, almost any type of organic matter can be moulded into functional products. Design studio Caracara Collective showcases their development of biomaterials and manufacturing techniques through artistic installations and design products such as lampshades, tiles and furniture. The possibilities of form are endless, as the materials can be compression or extrusion moulded, 3D printed, shaped by hand, machined, laser cut and dyed.

The main ingredients for Caracara Collective's lampshades are orange peel, which comes from local supermarkets’ juicers. Around 16 million tons of orange peel is produced every year from the juice industry, and it takes around 20 squeezed oranges to create one lampshade. In other words, each lampshade is the by-product of someone drinking two litres of orange juice. The other main ingredient for the lampshades are pine needles, which fall each year from discarded Christmas trees. Tree sizes vary, but on average 12 lampshades can be made from one tree.

Resources for biomaterials are everywhere and different colours and raw materials can be combined to create an unlimited mix of surface finishes, textures and structural qualities. These materials are completely biodegradable and they can be composted or broken down to make new products.

Creating materials from local waste streams has the potential to reduce the harmful environmental impacts caused by toxic materials, irresponsible use of natural resources and international shipping of raw materials. In the near future, Caracara Collective aims to visit various places, teaching how to turn local waste into functional products.

Information submitted by the maker and edited by the Future Materials Bank.

Ingredients

Locally collected organic matter and waste streams, such as fruit and vegetable peel, pine needles, reeds

Credits

This material exploration started in 2015 and has been carried out under Mandin Collective and Caracara Collective. In 2018, one of our founders Aleksi joined sustainable construction company Biohm in London as Material Development Manager, introducing these peel materials to create the backbone for Biohm's Orb material (Organic Refuse Biocompound).

Physical samples

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Accessible to participants at the Jan van Eyck Academie and public openings of the Future Materials Lab.