Creating clay from eggshells, leather from coffee grounds, and fabric from mushrooms, Sarah King, Biomaterials Specialist and Practitioner at STEAMhouse, has been educating and inspiring businesses on the creative opportunities of waste for over eight years.
With the pressure on businesses to achieve faster progress in reaching the circular economy goals set, Sarah is sharing her insights on how everyday waste products can be reimagined, repurposed, and regenerated for future growth.
Discussing what needs to be done to reach a circular economy in the next century – Sarah said:
“Waste products provide endless opportunity for circularity, but the biggest barrier we currently face is mindsets. We’re making huge strides in developing the technology needed to be able to innovatively repurpose waste, but we need to reconsider our behaviours as a wider society when it comes to consumption first. Education is the driving force behind this culture change, and so my colleagues and I at STEAMhouse are encouraging people to question how waste products can be used and embedded into other products and materials.”
Hoping to spearhead this change, and move the dial towards a more sustainable future, Sarah reveals three surprising waste products can be transformed into new materials:
Coffee grounds
“Most of us rely on that all-important caffeine fix to kickstart our day, so it comes as no surprise that more than 10 billion kilograms of coffee waste is produced globally each year. A significant amount of this ends up in landfill, which is a devastating loss of potential given that certain compounds found in coffee grounds can be reused in the production of biodegradable plastics. For example, cellulose – found in the cell walls of plants – makes up almost half the weight and volume of used coffee grounds. The nanofibers found within these have a strong, uniform structure and integrate well with the polymers used in other materials, meaning embedding coffee grounds could help strengthen materials by up to 30%. They also contain lignocellulosic fibres which, when extracted, can be used to create biodegradable films which have high tensile strength and biodegrade within 45 days!”
Eggshells
“Eggshells might seem like nothing more than breakfast leftovers, but they are a prime candidate when it comes to designing innovative biodegradable packaging. Crushing the eggshells leaves behind calcium carbonate that can be combined with other biodegradable polymers to act as binders, giving the material its structural integrity. Whilst the shells enhance the material’s mechanical properties, the eggshell membranes contain antimicrobial properties which are great for warding off the growth of bacteria on products – particularly gym equipment like yoga mats!”
Sawdust
“Converting sawdust powder into a Styrofoam-like packaging material is an incredible breakthrough which could eventually see us replacing millions of single-use plastic items. By embedding sawdust into other materials, the mechanical characteristics of the biomaterial can be enhanced, which will benefit its overall strength and toughness.”
Through her work, she is challenging people to question the purpose of design, showing how innovation and creativity has the potential to drive positive change for the future.
To find out more about Sarah’s work and other innovations taking place at STEAMhouse, visit https://steamhouse.org.uk/
