You begin your day with a breakfast of synthetic toast and lab-grown cheese, a diet optimized to your own genetic preferences. You put on your biosynthetic coat made from fibers that can self-repair. You drive to work in a car that uses biofuels produced by microbes engineered using synthetic biology. The headphones you are using at work…
In a first for recycled materials in the auto industry, Ford has teamed up with HP to turn 3D printer waste, powders and parts, into injection molded vehicle parts. The recycled materials are being used to manufacture injection-molded fuel-line clips installed first on Super Duty F-250 trucks. The parts have better chemical and moisture resistance than…
A new community of environmentally-friendly 3D-printed homes is being built in the California desert. Sustainable real estate developer Palari Group is teaming up with modular homebuilding service Mighty Buildings to construct 15 homes along a five-acre plot of land in Rancho Mirage, California, using 3D printing and robotic automation. The $15 million USD project, announced earlier this month, will…
Plastic waste is being converted into filaments used to 3D print unique furniture and objects. Supernovas, a recently launched London and Milan-based circular design and lifestyle company, has shown that PET plastic waste from recycled bottles and product packaging can be transformed into recycled and recyclable products that are not only sustainable but also beautiful. This revolutionary way to re-use…
Only 2 % of all world’s plastic is recycled for the same or similar products. That means that even the worldwide recycling quote of just 14 % reflects not the recycling amount that stays in the loop. The majority of this plastics is downgraded to less complex outdoor products like benches or decks. With other words,…
Neste has announced Neste RE - a new recycled, bio-based feedstock that is compatible with existing polymer and chemical production infrastructures. The company hopes that its new product will help to reduce the need for virgin fossil resources, while also providing a new solution to the end-of-life related challenges the polymers and chemicals industries are facing today.…
Once hailed as a miracle material, plastic has turned into a problem of global proportions. Prized for its plasticity (hence the name), today plastic is used in or wrapped around almost everything. Despite serious environmental problems, that ubiquity makes it impossible to simply quit using plastic. In the search for an environmentally friendly alternative, bioplastics have shown…
Find the perfect bioplastic gift for every holiday, budget, and person on your list. We have put together a roundup of some fantastic plastic ideas for the upcoming festival season or any other occasion. Make somebody happy with an ecological and healthy surprise while doing something good for our planet. . 1. Biodegradable cup made of…
Products made from bio-based plastics must undergo the same testing procedures as conventional plastic products to access the market of the European Union (EU). Thereby a health risk for consumers is excluded. Plastics intended to be certified as biodegradable or compostable must undergo additional tests. “Products made of bioplastics thus pass even more tests than conventional…
German polymer manufacturer Covestro will introduce a new, more sustainable line of 3D printing materials at the upcoming Formnext Connect virtual trade show. Covestro is set to add a new line of filaments that address the circular economy to its Addigy® range, which are either partially made from recycled plastics, or which are made with up to 20 percent CO2. The…