recycled Archives

A backpack made from recycled plastic and captured carbon

Spotted: Stand.earth’s 2022 review of the fashion industry’s global carbon emissions found an alarming increase. Of the 10 major brands that were assessed, all were committed to the United Nations Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action, yet only one company is on track to reduce supply chain emissions enough to keep global warming at the 1.5 degree Celsius or below mark.

Ways to reduce emissions include working with recycled materials and designing products for longevity. Materials science company GroundTruth is doing just that for its bags and accessories. The company makes carbon-neutral, vegan, recycled plastic backpacks and carryalls that have a 10-year performance guarantee. The latest product is the 38L Hybrid Duffle Pack that incorporates the company’s latest technology – hardware made from captured carbon.

Video source GroundTruth

The packs can be carried by hand, on the back, and across the body, with bottle holders on the front of the pack to make hydrating easy. The bags also open a full 180 degrees for swift accessibility. Notably, each duffle uses 123 plastic bottles for the exterior fabric, and the interior fabric is made from recycled fishing nets.

In tests, the captured carbon material performed 40 per cent better than virgin plastic. The waterproof coating on the material contains no volatile organic compounds, and the company works with Bluesign-certified manufacturers that meet Global Recycled Standards for safe and healthy production processes. Explorer Ed Stafford helped design and test the functionality of the pack’s features and in May 2023, GroundTruth closed a successful Kickstarter campaign and started production of the Hybrid Duffle in Jakarta.

The complexity of the fashion industry supply chain is inspiring an equally impressive number of improvements to its ecological footprint, and Springwise has spotted the growing of cotton indoors and fabrics made from banana fibres.

Written By: Keely Khoury

Reference

Sustainable News

Turning unused textiles into recycled yarn

By Zarkon Group,18/04/2023

Spotted: The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) says that a lack of ‘system enablers’ is the main challenge in scaling up supply chain transparency in the garment and footwear industries. The lack of those enablers presents a significant market opportunity in this area, as recent research found that 78 per cent of consumers would pay more for products that are produced locally or made from sustainable material. French company Weturn is improving this visibility for full circularity in textile production and use.

Weturn provides a complete recycling service that makes it possible for brands to offer consumers clear traceability of garments. Weturn tracks a company’s entire inventory, from finished products to production scraps, and builds a recycling process around future fabric needs. Weturn’s team picks up and transports unsold products and then recycles and spins them into new yarns that are used to create recycled raw material (RRM) fabrics.

It takes two to three months after pick-up of waste materials for a company to receive its recycled fabrics. Weturn’s service includes a full traceability report, and the company works with production partners in Spain, Italy, France, and Portugal to keep transport and other emissions to a minimum. The RRM fabrics are Global Recycled Standard certified, and part of every traceability report includes life cycle assessments covering water consumption, pollution, CO2 and other waste emissions.

While the complexity of the fashion industry can make it challenging to implement sustainable changes quickly, it also creates opportunity for exciting innovations. Springwise has spotted improvements in the industry’s sustainability in a number of different ways, including a cellulose powder that removes textile dyes from water, and 3D printed footwear that is 100 per cent recyclable.

Written By: Keely Khoury

Reference

Sustainable News

Sustainable building cladding made of recycled glass

By Zarkon Group,31/03/2023

Spotted: Right now, people are undergoing massive efforts to make sure humanity slashes its greenhouse gases. From individuals making eco-conscious choices to researchers trying to uproot the wasteful systems we use, our global response strengthens day by day. Australia’s Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) researchers are a player in this effort, with their new fire-safe building claddings made from recycled glass.

Alongside materials technology company Livefield, the RMIT team worked to make the composite cladding, which the team claims is cheap, structurally robust, and fire-resistant. The sustainable innovators use 83 per cent recycled glass to make their claddings, along with relatively low amounts of plastic binders and fire-retardant additives.

According to lead researcher Associate Professor Dilan Robert, we make a lot of glass waste. In fact, about 130 million tonnes of glass are produced yearly, with only 21 per cent of this being recycled. “By using high amounts of recycled glass in building claddings while ensuring they meet fire safety and other standards, we are helping to find a solution to the very real waste challenge,” explains Robert.

After passing the central compliance requirement of claddings set by Standards Australia, panels were installed at RMIT’s Bundoora campus to prove the technology’s feasibility.

Springwise has previously spotted other innovations that strive to make building materials more sustainable, including a rubber made from recycled rubber and construction waste and a technical wood designed around the sustainable use of wood.

Written By: Georgia King

Reference

Sustainable News

Recycled carbon fibre composite material

By Zarkon Group,29/03/2023

Spotted: Carbon fibre composites are widely used substances, appearing in aircraft and spacecraft parts, wind turbine blades, bicycle frames, and many other components that need to be strong but light. However, most carbon fibres are difficult to recycle and repurpose. This is particularly problematic in the wind turbine industry. Given that, from 2030 onwards, around 5,700 wind turbines will be dismantled each year in Europe alone, a recycling solution needs to be found.

Fairmat has devised a way to recycle all types of carbon fibre composites. Its process is largely automated and uses robotics and machine learning to deliver precision and efficiency. The proprietary process breaks waste up into small pieces that keep the original resin and carbon fibre together. Fairmat then creates compounds from the waste and coats them with a small amount of additional resin to form a new matrix. The resulting compound is then moulded according to customer needs and hardened.

Ben Saada, Fairmat CEO, explains: “Recycling advanced materials like carbon fibre composites is one of the strongest actions we can take to accelerate the decarbonisation of the manufacturing sector.”

Although the process is still under development, Fairmat has already secured more than 35 per cent of European carbon fibre scrap supply and opened its first factory. The company has also secured €34 million in a series A funding round and hopes to eventually expand into the US, Spain, and Germany.

The growing mountain of used wind turbine blades sitting in landfills is encouraging a number of innovations targeting this waste. Some of those recently spotted by Springwise include blades made from a composite material that can be more easily recycled and reused, a bladeless turbine, and a bioplastic blade material that can be turned into gummy bears.

Written By: Lisa Magloff

Reference

Interior Design

Emily Sandstrom builds Sydney home extension from recycled materials

By Zarkon Group,08/03/2023

Australian architect Emily Sandstrom has transformed a run-down 1930s bungalow in Sydney by adding an extension that was partly built from demolition materials.

Sandstrom aimed to restore the home, which had been left untouched for decades, and celebrate its original features including picture rails and ceiling mouldings.

Open-plan kitchen and dining room with concrete flooring, wood kitchen island with seating and wood storage cupboards — The extension has a U shape with glass doors that let in light

The architect demolished a small rear kitchen, outhouse and sunroom and reused the bricks and materials from the demolition to construct a 45-square-metre U-shaped extension, which accommodates an open-plan kitchen and dining space.

Two large sliding glass doors open out to a courtyard and let natural light into the kitchen extension.

Rear garden of a bungalow with brick steps leading to a patio and home extension — Demolished bricks were reused to build the extension

The U-shaped extension and courtyard were designed to provide a connection between indoor and outdoor entertainment areas.

According to Sandstrom, concrete flooring and overhanging eaves help to passively heat the home in winter and cool it in summer. Solar panels were also added to the home, meaning no additional heating or cooling systems were needed.

Kitchen with concrete flooring, wood ceiling and a large kitchen island with seating — Sandstrom aimed to create a connection between indoor and outdoor entertainment spaces

“The U shape in combination with the wide and curved eaves provides passive heating to the home during the winter months and shade during the summer,” Sandstrom told Dezeen.

“This in combination with a concrete floor for thermal mass, double glazing and high windows located for cross ventilation, means there is no need for additional heating and cooling systems.”

A large island with a countertop made from recycled Australian hardwood is the focal point of the kitchen, where a step down in floor level separates the “work zone” on one side of the island from the rest of the room.

“The kitchen was a particular focus in the design, and a strong central point of the home,” said Sandstrom.

Kitchen with concrete flooring, white brick walls and wood cabinets — A change in floor level separates the kitchen from the dining space

Informed by Japanese design and bathing rituals, the bathroom features a sunken bathtub that sits below floor level.

Timber decking covers the floors and conceals the drainage points for an overhead shower. Glass sliding doors lead to a small garden with an additional outdoor shower.

“[The bathroom] was designed to achieve an atmosphere of calm and seclusion, and the design captures many different outlooks into the garden and directs the eye away from the less ideal views,” said Sandstrom.

Bathroom with sunken bath, blue tiled walls and a window overlooking a garden — The bathroom features a sunken bathtub that overlooks a garden

Throughout the home, the architect removed carpets to uncover the original floorboards and restored original features, including stained glass windows, ornate ceiling mouldings, dark timber doors, trims and architraves.

Newly added joinery was designed to preserve the home’s skirting boards, picture rails and ceiling mouldings, as well as maintain the original scale and layout of the rooms.

A bedroom with wood floors and dark timber window frames and picture rails — The home’s original features such as ceiling mouldings and picture rails were maintained

Other homes recently completed in Australia that have been featured on Dezeen include an oceanside residence in Sydney that was transformed to suit a family of five and a home in Melbourne with interiors finished in timber, terracotta and rich jewel tones.

The photography is by Rohan Venn.

Reference

Sustainable News

Floating home concept made from recycled materials

By Zarkon Group,08/11/2022

Spotted: Floating homes are increasingly seen as a viable housing option. Copenhagen-based MAST architecture studio’s concept of modular structures makes the idea sustainable by building with recycled materials and incorporating marine-friendly shapes into the design.

Called Land on Water, the studio’s concept uses flat-packed modules made from recycled plastic to create the floating base. Designed to be easy to ship and assemble, the system is customisable. Once the bases are built, they can be connected in a variety of configurations, providing everything from a floating pool to homes and recreation space. More or less support can be added as needed as a community develops and changes.

MAST uses gabion construction for the bases, which is a series of mesh cages filled with flotation supports. In this case, the studio recommends locally sourced, recycled materials. Sea creatures can live safely in, on, and around the cages, and the studio explicitly eliminates harmful chemicals and other materials from the design in order to better support and live in partnership with marine life.

Currently working on a prototype, the studio seeks partners interested in developing the concept for a range of projects.

As well as floating homes, Springwise has spotted floating work pods and floating solar farms taking advantage of the flexibility of working with water, rather than against it.

Written By: Keely Khoury

Reference

Sustainable News

Sustainable insulation made from recycled mineral waste

By Zarkon Group,30/10/2022

Spotted: Insulation is important. In the UK, it’s estimated that 80 per cent of all the houses that will be in use in the year 2050, have already been built – but just 20 per cent will have been built to net zero standard. This means that 26 million UK homes will need to be retrofitted with improved insulation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And the situation is similar in other countries. In Switzerland, for instance, more than 1 million houses have no or insufficient insulation.

One of the key challenges when it comes to insulating homes is the trade-off builders need to make when choosing insulating material. Today, those installing insulation must compromise on either environmental impact, cost, or flammability. Now, however, Swiss startup FenX AG claims to have found a way to avoid this compromise.

The startup’s solution is to create insulating foams from abundant mineral waste. Sourcing materials locally from a wide range of industrial waste streams and low-value natural resources, FenX uses its unique foaming technology to create insulating panels, bricks, and customised 3D-printed parts.

The composition of materials used as feedstock for this process meets all the necessary safety requirements for use in the building industry, and the finished foams are recyclable, non-flammable, 3D-printable, and high-performance. What is more, the manufacturing process for the materials results in very low carbon dioxide emissions.

In addition to its core insulation offering, FenX has partnered with ETH Zurich on a project that explores how foam 3D-printing can be used in conjunction with concrete casting to reduce concrete waste.

Springwise has spotted other recent innovations that reduce the environmental impact of buildings. These include building walls that can store carbon, a wood-based cooling foam that improves energy efficiency, and a startup that converts existing buildings to net zero using an innovative process.

Written By: Matthew Hempstead

Reference

Sustainable News

Urselmann Interior renovates own office using recycled materials

By Zarkon Group,26/09/2022

Düsseldorf studio Urselmann Interior has renovated its own office interiors using biodegradable, recycled or upcycled materials, including glueless joinery and a cellulose-based wall cladding.

The interior design studio said that it renovated its self-described “circular” office in the German city to only feature materials that are either recycled, upcycled or biodegradable.

Urselmann Interior office — Urselmann Interior’s office is in Düsseldorf

These include existing wooden and terrazzo flooring that was salvaged during the renovation, as well as heaters obtained from resource-efficient building material platform Concular.

Spread over one main workspace, a kitchen and a meeting room, the single-level office features clay paint walls and is designed to be used as both a co-working space and a showroom.

Kitchen in office — The renovation includes a kitchen

“The office also serves us as a laboratory in that we can [use it to] test new qualities, materials and construction methods,” project manager Liz Theißen told Dezeen.

A solid wooden frame was used to create simple kitchen cabinets, which were constructed without glue so that the structure is fully demountable.

Urselmann Interior kitchen — Joinery was created without glue in much of the project

The frame was fitted with panels formed from recycled strips of fabric supplied by textile brand Kvadrat from its Really collection.

For its walls, the studio used Honext wall cladding – a cellulose-based material that is produced using paper sludge and cardboard waste.

Poplar wood from a tree felled in the nearby city of Krefeld was chosen for the ceiling, which was also assembled without glue.

Throughout the office, neutral and minimal colour and material palettes were applied to the interior design, which also includes clusters of carefully arranged potted plants and books.

Second-hand lighting encased in wiggly orange felt from Hey-Sign adds a splash of colour to the otherwise sandy-hued atmosphere.

Orange lighting in office — Wiggly orange lighting adds a splash of colour

Theißen explained that all of the components that Urselmann Interior used for the renovation have been listed in a published “material passport” that can be referred to for future projects.

“We want to develop a new design language for ourselves, in which we smartly combine high-quality materials such as solid wood with ecological building materials as well as reusable components [to achieve] a positive footprint in the construction industry,” she said.

“Our design principles follow the school of thought of ‘cradle to cradle’, which is the safe and potentially infinite circulation of materials and nutrients in cycles.”

“All constituents are chemically harmless and recyclable. We aim to eliminate the design flaw of waste in our processes,” concluded Theißen.

Urselmann Interior is a Düsseldorf-based interiors studio founded by Sven Urselmann.

Similar projects to the studio’s office renovation include a Madrid restaurant by Lucas Muñoz with furniture formed from site construction waste and a bar made out of recycled stereos, bottle crates and fridges by Michael Marriott.

The photography is by Magdalena Gruber.

Project credits:

Design and build: Urselmann Interior
Founder and designer: Sven Urselmann
Designer: Petra Jablonická
Project manager: Liz Theißen

Reference

Sustainable News

Wind turbine bioplastic can be recycled into gummy bears

By Zarkon Group,06/09/2022

Spotted: While wind power currently represents 6 per cent of global electricity production, one major obstacle to overcome is the disposal of decommissioned turbines. Most turbine blades are made of fiberglass, which is difficult to recycle. As a result, tens of thousands of discarded blades find their way into landfills every year. Now, Michigan State University may have found a solution to this problem. Researchers there have developed a new turbine blade material that can be easily recycled at the end of its life span.

By combining glass fibres with a plant-derived polymer and a synthetic one, Dr. John Dorgan, Ph.D., and colleagues have developed a thermoplastic resin that can be recast into new products.

To recycle panels made from the new resin, the team dissolved the used composite in fresh monomer, physically removing the glass fibres. They were then able to recast the material into new composite sheets, making new blades with the same physical properties as their predecessors.

In addition, the team’s work suggests that other applications for recycled carbon fibre composites may be possible. For example, the researchers found that digesting the resin in an alkaline solution produced potassium lactate, which is commonly used in sweets and sports drinks. The potassium lactate could even be used to make the gummy bears beloved by children around the world.

“The beauty of our resin system is that at the end of its use cycle, we can dissolve it, and that releases it from whatever matrix it’s in so that it can be used over and over again in an infinite loop,” explains Dorgan, representing the team at the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

The next step is for the researchers to build test turbine blades using the material. As for potential food-grade uses, the question is whether the public will be willing to eat something that was once used for such a clearly non-edible application. Dorgan’s response is that a carbon atom is a carbon atom regardless of where it comes from.

As wind turbines become more prevalent and the problem of their disposal becomes more apparent, Springwise has covered other methods for recycling wind turbine blades. These include a recyclable composite innovation turning turbine blades into snowsports equipment, and the UK’s first turbine blade recycling project.

Written By: Katrina Lane

6th September 2022

Email: jd@egr.msu.edu

Website: msu.edu

Reference

Sustainable News

An energy-harvesting wearable made from recycled waste

By Zarkon Group,13/04/2022

Spotted: The global market for smart wearables is forecast to reach $42.3 billion (around €38.9 billion) by 2028. These devices will undoubtedly improve our lives through greater connectivity and convenience. But more electronic devices mean more demand for raw materials such as iron, copper, and gold – something which is increasingly emerging as a problem.

To tackle this, researchers from the University of Surrey, are explored how recycled waste materials can be used to make wearables by developing and testing a prototype wrist device made from discarded paper wipes and plastic cups.

The prototype is powered by energy harvested from the wearer’s movements. The device contains materials—called Triboelectric Nanogenerators (TENGs)—that become electrically charged when they rub against one another, in a process known as electrostatic induction. This charge is used to power the device – which currently transmits morse code. In the future the prototype could be developed into a smart watch.

“It won’t be long until we have to ask ourselves which of the items we own are not connected to the internet,” explains Dr Bhaskar Dudem, project lead and Research Fellow at the University of Surrey’s Advanced Technology Institute (ATI). “However, the current internet-of-things (IoT) revolution highlights the simple fact that our planet doesn’t have the raw resources to continue to make these devices which are in such high demand.”

Wearable innovations recently spotted by Springwise include
a biosensor
that can measure emotional data, a wearable
sensor for tracking stress, and a wearable
that uses the human body to power electrical equipment.

Written By: Matthew Hempstead

13th April 2022

Email: mediarelations@surrey.ac.uk

Website: surrey.ac.uk

Reference

recycled

A backpack made from recycled plastic and captured carbon

Turning unused textiles into recycled yarn

Sustainable building cladding made of recycled glass

Recycled carbon fibre composite material

Emily Sandstrom builds Sydney home extension from recycled materials

Floating home concept made from recycled materials

Sustainable insulation made from recycled mineral waste

Urselmann Interior renovates own office using recycled materials

Wind turbine bioplastic can be recycled into gummy bears

An energy-harvesting wearable made from recycled waste

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