Tag: Waste

Insoles with fungal spores help prevent bacteria and foot diseases. Now a Canadian-based startup is also using mushroom spores - to produce large quantities of protein-rich, plant-based food. First step: extract the sugar from agricultural waste. The sugar serves as nourishment for a teaspoonful of spores from different edible mushrooms, which are then fermented in large steel tanks. Next,...

Sustainable paper can be produced from fallen leaves, while new furniture can be 3D printed with the help of sawdust. Now, a startup from Serbia is focusing its attention on a different waste product, using bark from trees to manufacture bioplastics. The team buys the typically incinerated bark from timber companies. It is ground to a fine powder, before...

In India, leaves are being converted to fertiliser and farm stubble used to make packaging material - instead of being burned. Organic waste can be used in a variety of sustainable solutions. But what if you lack the material to implement a solution in practice? Enter a US-based startup and their platform which allows biological waste to be both...

Coffee grounds are a key ingredient in sustainable concrete, while tiles made from eggshells are perfect for naturally-made interior fittings. Corn cobs, too, can help reduce CO2 emissions in the building trade. A Dutch startup shreds dried corn waste and presses the scraps mixed with binding agent into panels at temperatures of up to 150 degrees. These panels are...

Seaweed can be used as a fire retardant. In Berlin, meanwhile, a female designer has developed a thin algae-based film and coated it with a natural dye. The aim? To stop still edible food being wasted. Her film changes colour according to the pH value of what it’s covering, reacting upon contact with gases like ammonia, produced when fish...

Security labels without silicon can prevent theft. Still, no electronic sensor functions without a wireless connection. The power supply required for such devices has an impact on battery size. Which is why a Norwegian-based startup has developed a new circuit architecture for wireless chips, so that they work in the subthreshold region. At 3.3 volts, conventional components need around...

Waste from apple juice production improves chickens’ health. When they die, chicken feathers are generally burned. This fact gave an international research team from Zurich and Singapore pause. In particular, as the 40 tons of feather waste discarded annually produce CO2 while containing 90% keratin. The team extracted the protein, turned it into extremely fine fibres and used the...

Haute couture made from hair is a distinct possibility. Wool, meanwhile, isn’t just suitable for winter jumpers. The proof? Look no further than this England-based startup, which is using sheep’s wool to produce chairs. The team realised that fewer and fewer carpets were being made from the wool of two common UK breeds. Too good to be the waste...