Upcycling plastic waste to pave roads

ASIA GREENROAD COMPANY LIMITED

Green Road is a volunteer group in Thailand founded by Assistant Professor Dr.Wechsawan Lakas (Dr. Pow Green Road). The objectives of the group are as follows.
1) To campaign for the public to reduce single-used plastic;
2) To campaign for the public to classify plastic waste for further optimal use; and
3) To ask for plastic waste donation from the public in order to produce upcycled products, such as, recycled plastic floor blocks, roads, desks, benches or footpath for the disabled; and donate them to schools, temples, public parks, and public spaces.

It starts from launching campaigns for residents in a target area to classify plastic waste and then mail it via mass transport to the Green Road Project or other affiliated projects on upcycling plastic waste for public benefits (view the accompanying video). There are various upcycling methods, for instance, melting plastic waste with other materials or using plastic waste as a component or recycled materials. These depend on the types and quantity of donated plastic waste. Upcycled products are then donated to public institutions or spaces. For instance, plastic floor blocks are used to construct a road for schools, temples, or a footpath for the disabled. Recycled desks or benches are given to public parks for people to sit and relax. Upcycled shoes or clothing can be given to children in poor remote areas. The volunteer group hopes to reduce the quantity of plastic waste in the country, as well as to raise people’s quality of life with a sustainable and environmentally friendly lifestyle.

株式会社LIFULL

Earth Cuisine is a project to find new ingredients from the earth.
It is a project to find new ingredients for the earth.
　
If we can find new possibilities of eating ingredients that cause social and environmental problems
“If we can find a new possibility of eating
If we can find new possibilities of “eating” the ingredients that cause social and environmental problems, the future may change drastically.
　
In order to realize a sustainable society
To realize a sustainable society, we would like to offer you a dish that will make you rethink your life.

DYCLE Diaper Cycle UG

We offer a circular system of 100% bio-based & compostable diaper inlays to parents and take back used ones, to be transformed into fertile soil substrate. Our innovation is the inlay, which uses only non-chemically treated raw fibers as absorption material. The inlays are used in combination with washable outer pants known from cloth diaper systems.

We developed, and successfully tested, a distribution & recollection system in pilot studies with Berlin parents, this year partnering with the Berlin district Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg. Parents receive diaper inlays and return the soiled ones on average once a week to a distribution point close to their home.

The resulting soil substrate is rich in carbon and will be used for climate farming and tree planting campaigns. The production line of our diaper inlays is able to be installed anywhere in the world, not only in industrialised countries.

Our long term vision is to build a social empowering network that enables entrepreneurs in the world (especially female entrepreneurs) to establish a decentralized production of diaper inlays with natural materials sourced from their local area, providing job opportunities and strengthening the local community and economy.

Circular economy-based mattress subscription platform

nornnorn

nornnorn is the world’s first Circular Economy-based product subscription platform.

We help eliminate the upfront investment on high-value, long-life products, thereby lowering the access barrier to such products, whilst reducing the amount of waste, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions produced by the consumption system. Based on our Founder & CEO’s decade-long experience and expertise in the mattress industry, the first product category that we focus on is mattress for hospitality businesses.

Available in Thailand and Indonesia since Q3 2018, our mattress subscriptions last between 60 and 120 months, durations that are in line with the hospitality industry’s standard mattress replacement cycles. The high quality mattresses provided are purchased from leading local manufacturers (our supplier partners) with debt financing powered by green bonds. At the end of every subscription, used mattresses are retrieved, disassembled and recycled free of charge.

As we scale up, we will expand our service to the B2C market and other countries across the globe and apply our business model to other high-value, long-life products, such as batteries, solar cells and electronic appliances.

[Please turn on the English subtitle in the VDO clip by clicking on the subtitle icon in the bottom right corner of the clip.]

individual

A project that seeks to highlight the inefficiencies of our current food system, from its production methods to the way ingredients are being consumed. For all of its positive symbolism — ascension and spiritual evolution, hope and freedom.

Over 2.3 million tonnes of feather waste are produced annually from poultry production in the EU. Traditionally, this feather waste is disposed of either through landfill or incineration. Massive waste streams have affected the planet and food industry which needs to be refined and improved so that supply chains are more sustainable.

This project proposes an alternative way to manage feather waste from slaughterhouses by converting its nutrient composition into a new edible product. Chemically, chicken feathers are composed of approximately 91 protein (keratin) which contains up to eight types of the essential amino acids as we require as part of a healthy diet. It has been proved that keratin protein from feathers is safe for general consumption in our daily diet.

Chicken feathers could therefore be turned into a new delicacy replicating the quality and aesthetics of high-quality food, also a tender texture creation by unique structure in food. The structure was constructed by non-animal products same like a vegan meat making technique. Consequently, all the ingredients and selected food binders could finally form a structure that giving firmness and flexibility at the same time for this feather meat.

Under these circumstances, the physical and chemical aspects of the making could finally contribute melt-in-the-mouth texture for alternative meat eating experience. This new eating experience will trick our sensory of food perception to be more enjoyable with this healthier meat cut.

I believe that if we are to continue rearing and slaughtering millions of birds daily, then at the very least we have a responsibility to ensure that we safely and sustainably make use of every part of them.

株式会社BAGASSE UPCYCLE

Kariyushi wear is a formal dress in Okinawa and is positioned like a Hawaiian aloha shirt, which is also a resort wear. BAGASSE UPCYCLE is committed to the issue of mass production and mass disposal in the apparel industry by sharing bagasse-derived Kariyushi wear, which is an unused resource of sugarcane, the core crop of Okinawa Prefecture.
Today’s business travelers and tourists buy Kariyushi shirts to wear during their stay in Okinawa. Since then, many have been discarded. We aim to enable Kariyushi Shirts to be used in a way that is as lean as possible and does not burden the environment. Kariyushi Shirt, which has been used for sharing a certain number of times, is carbonized in a coal-making furnace and used as a soil conditioner for sugar cane fields. As a result, a circulation structure centered on sugar cane was constructed. In addition, Okinawa’s traditional craft “Ryukyu Bingata” and modern art are used for textile design to improve Okinawanness and brand value. Finally, by embedding an IC tag for each item, you can visualize and trace the movement on the value chain as a Product Passport. We connect with craftsmen in the supply chain and users who share the same clothing, and provide more fun than just “wearing clothes”.

Bio-architecture Formosana

TaiSugar Circular Village (TCV) is located within the Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City, Tainan. This residential project is the first of its kind in Taiwan, focusing on circular economy concept in the built environment. Taiwan Sugar Corporation (TSC) has taken a bold initiative to experiment with this new economic model. This project is aptly placed within the masterplan that was initiated by the government in 2016 with the vision to build a smart ecosystem city that co-develops with nature, as well as to build up “people-oriented” community and the necessary green life system. In response to the advent of a sustainable economy and the policy goals of nuclear-free homeland in Taiwan, the government has listed the circular economy as an important issue of its “Five plus two innovative industries policy”. Government thus makes efforts to boost the potential of circularity in the resource limited island so as to bolster the nation’s energy security, to create a green economy and to promote environmental sustainability.

The site is 10 minutes away from Tainan High Speed Rail station with the site area of 13,994.07 square meters. This development consists three identical housing blocks, a circular demo house (C-House) and an eco-house (E-house). There are a total of 429 rental units of mainly studio apartments with a small numbers of one bedroom, two bedroom and three bedroom apartments.
The “Circular Village” is made up of the three “Circular Blocks” where the living quarters is located, “Circular Field” where it consists of a “C-House”, an “E-House” and a “C-Farm”. The C-House functions as the living room of the village, the E-House as the kitchen while the C-Farm is the garden where food is produced. In this project, we have categorized the idea of circularity in a few aspects which include Circular Concept, Circular Management, Circular Resources, Circular Living and Circular Policy to helps us positively explore new possibilities and solutions in the circular architecture.

Social contribution shopping site

株式会社クラダシ

■ Social contribution shopping site “KURADASHI”
Reduce food loss by purchasing food that has been discarded for various reasons from manufacturers and selling it online to consumers. By donating a part of the sales to NPOs, etc., we also contribute to solving social issues other than food loss.
Not only can manufacturers reduce disposal costs, but they can also avoid the risk of brand image damage in terms of sustainability. Consumers can contribute to society through affordable shopping. NPOs can activate their activities with the support of “KURADASHI”. We have just built a “Sampo Yoshi” mechanism. The greater the influence of “”KURADASHI””, the more a virtuous cycle will be created socially, environmentally and economically.

■ Achievements (cumulative)
The number of food loss reductions is 14,178 tons, the number of CO2 reductions is 36.29t-CO2, the economic effect is 4,395,240,000 yen, and the total donation is 65,683,615 yen.

Seaweed-based biopackaging: sustainable, compostable, circular, and edible

PT Seaweedtama Biopac Indonesia

Biopac is an Indonesian SME that uses proprietary technology to manufacture seaweed-based bio-packaging. We aim to tackle plastic waste pollution and climate change due to CO2 emission. Using seaweed is our strategy to obtain truly biodegradable, even more, edible packaging without posing a risk in deforestation or food crisis. This strategy also enables us to participate in improving the livelihood of seaweed farmers communities. We need them to cultivate seaweed to naturally transform CO2 (the pollutant) into biopolymer (the packaging material). We have to ensure that they are well-being and enjoy cultivating seaweed.

戦略本部 マーケティング室 コミュニケーションデザイン課

In recent years, the natural resources essential for the production of ceramics and porcelain have been depleting. In addition, Japan’s ceramics business as a whole is in a slump, and we felt that there was a limit to the linear economy model, in which resources are mined in large quantities, tableware is produced in large quantities, and then disposed of as soon as it breaks or chips. Under the theme of “Designing a circular future for the next 100 years,” Nikko Corporation, which has been engaged in the production of high-quality ceramics since its establishment in 1908, has been working on the development of a circular economy in the value chain related to the ceramics business, from raw material procurement to manufacturing, logistics, utilization, and collection. We have decided to shift to a circular economy. Currently, we are working on initiatives such as subscription services for serving plates, reuse of damaged tableware by recovering it, and upcycling to other fields. We would like to enhance the sustainability of our ceramics business, the restaurants and hotels that use our tableware, our customers, and the planet as a whole.

by JINOWA Consortium for restoration of earth

株式会社GEN Japan

The circular architectural project “Regenerative Forest -JINEN” is a soil restoration project started in Venice by the JINOWA International Consortium and the Japanese architect Tono Mirai in May 2021.

The exhibition of JINEN in the European Culture Center in Venice is dedicated to showing how the process of building can lead the circular value for the current environmental crisis.

JINEN also contained a biodiversity garden of the dune plants that aim to regenerate the Venetian lagoon ecosystem.

From November, when the exhibition ends, JINEN will step forward to the most exciting phase to create new value in the local society and transform all materials as products, education and collaborate with the various initiatives to increase soil fertility and profit in the local community.

In particular, the JINOWA consortium is strongly engaged in soil education through the JINEN: the process of decomposing JINEN has great potential to stimulate the Venetian community to create various innovative values rather than just disposal.

JINOWA put all creativity to maximize the value through Jinen materials transformation to benefit local green and edible garden projects and collaborate with initiatives on Giudecca Island in Venezia.

REnato lab

REnato lab has collaborated with collector, recycler, designer and manufacturer, to turn waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs), which are nearly 3–6 wt % of the total electronic waste, into “REstone” that could be used in interior design, product design and architecture. As an alternative for incinerating WPCBs, REstone can reduce carbon emissions by nearly 83%. It has welcomed its third generation this year, and was first used as exterior tiles in a public building.

積水ハウス株式会社　コミュニケーションデザイン部　CXデザイン室

In order to realize a sustainable society, it is necessary for companies to improve their resource efficiency. Sekisui House has been working on zero emissions for over 15 years. We separate 27 types of waste at the construction site and 80 types at the Resource Recycling Center, and also measure the weight of waste using 2D barcodes for each type. In 2004, we became the first company in the industry to receive approval for a wide-area certification system, and our material recycling rate will be 81.7% in FY2020, thanks to cross-area collection and thorough sorting. The company is contributing to the recycling of construction waste. In addition, in June 2021, we will create furniture using waste materials for the “Ethical Living Mate,” a project to discuss environmental actions with next-generation creators, and design chairs using waste materials with students from the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Engineering at the SEKISUI HOUSE KUMA-LAB, which has Kengo Kuma as a special professor. Our zero-emissions activities are also being used to introduce the idea of circular economy to the younger generation.

鴨志田農園（屋号）

Why do we compost food waste? My answer is that I feel the use of fuel oil in the incineration of food waste is unnatural. The water content of food waste is 95-98%. This means that in order to burn raw garbage, which is almost like water, we are transporting fuel additives from a distant foreign country. In order to burn 1 ton of raw garbage, 760 liters of fuel additives are used and 2,050 kg of CO2 is emitted. At a unit price of 82.3 yen per barrel of crude oil, this means that 600 billion yen of taxpayer money is spent annually on incineration. In response to this unnatural situation, a circular economy-type CSA is an initiative in which local farmers involve citizens and proactively participate in food waste composting. For the participants, there are advantages such as saving on waste disposal costs by reducing the amount of combustible waste, obtaining fresh and tasty vegetables, and disaster prevention functionality (composting toilet). For farmers, there are advantages such as stable livelihood as they can provide fertilizer and stable vegetable sales, which are not affected by market prices.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

医療法人生和会　SDX研究所

Our goal is to create a “clothing circulation system centered on the medical field,” in which hospitals can solve problems in clothing for the disabled and elderly and circulate the clothes created as solutions. The fashion industry has a large environmental burden due to the conventional mass production and disposal system. On the other hand, there are few options for clothing adapted to the disabled and the elderly, and issues such as “there are many but no options” exist, and we have yet to reach a society where all people can wear the clothes they want to wear and enjoy fashion. Therefore, from the stage of hospitalization, we create clothes that are unique to each individual, based on their physical and mental challenges. Because the hospital has a long-term relationship with the patient, it is possible to collect, repair, and recycle the clothes that the patient wears and removes on an ongoing basis. From an economic standpoint, this enables the creation of new business partnerships (hospitals, repairers, patients, and families), and from an environmental standpoint, it reduces waste loss and environmental impact, extends the life of the product, and is expected to have a positive effect on the well-being of people with disabilities in terms of their daily activities and QOL.

仁舟社會企業股份有限公司

「仁舟水源寶育樹盆」已取得中華民國兩項專利，其外型如元寶，盆體即為蓄水容器，藉由以盆聚水、以繩滴灌的設計，蓄滿水後應用毛細原理，透過導水繩將水穩定供給至植物根部；在種下樹苗的前3個月關鍵期，給予其存活必要之水分，大幅提高樹苗存活率達7成與成長速度2-3倍。盆體以回收再生紙漿及天然可分解材料融合製作，兼具蓄水力與防護力，可不斷蓄接雨水，呵護樹苗成長茁壯，日後外殼腐爛也會成為天然有機肥供養大地，消弭土壤塑膠化的疑慮；水源寶育樹盆不僅可蓄水、還可避免陽光直射苗木、降低水分散失、並減少強風直襲，讓樹苗有穩定水源，提供適合的生存環境；植樹地點往往是在偏遠地區，若採用傳統植樹法，每年需多次派遣水車及人工前往澆水，其「人力」、「資金」、「水車載送過程中的碳排放量」都遠高於使用「仁舟水源寶育樹盆」的；對植樹而言長期可省下大量後續人力維管成本。

Beyond the circular economy. Mana Earthly Paradise with a social circular design

Earth Company

Established in 2019, Mana Earthly Paradise was founded to reimagine and redefine sustainability in business, especially in the tourism industry, which constitutes 80% of the Balinese economy. Mana is managed by Earth Company, a social enterprise that empowers paradigm-shifting changemakers in the Asia Pacific and offers transformative training programs to professionals and students. Mana is the most recent social business of Earth Company that aims to host these training programs on sustainability and social innovation. Thus, Mana’s key objective is “edu-tainment” – education and entertainment.
Mana incorporates regeneration in every aspect possible, with the entire resort constructed using natural building techniques with ethically sourced materials. Combining comfort and consciousness, the villas are all earthbag walls with bamboo roofs that have natural ventilation, 100% solar-powered lighting, water-efficient toilets and showerheads, and eco-friendly toiletries in reusable containers. Offering an affordable dormitory was a deliberate design choice to enable the next generation to experience the future of tourism.

澤秀俊設計環境/SAWADEE & NPO法人活エネルギーアカデミー

An economic zone based on local resources is formed by issuing the sales consideration as a local currency and returning it to the participants, with establishing regular logistics to effectively transport and utilize local resources such as collected thinned lumber and unused lumber. Takayama city, Gifu Prefecture, is the largest city in Japan (almost the same area as Tokyo), and 92% of it is occupied by forests. Despite the abundant forest resources, the small population of 88,000 was spending a lot of money to buy fossil fuels and flowing overseas (eg : Kerosene consumption is 2.4 billion yen every year). In addition, the forest resources carried out by thinning are not utilized well locally, and foreign timber is often used as the material for locally produced woodwork and buildings. In order to change this inefficient flow, the NPO Katsu Energy Academy, which we operate, has built a “regular logistic system for thinned wood” and an “economic model that circulates the value created by thinning woods as a local currency.”

株式会社グリーンディスプレイ

The “botanical light” that generates electricity with the power of plants, is a product
that illuminates light by picking up the negative electric charge emitted when microorganisms coexisting
with plants carry out life activities and utilizing it as electric power.
The “botanical light” could be obtained the power everywhere, where the electrodes can be inserted into the soil in which plants can grow.
This is just a tiny-power-generator, but it would lead to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions safety.
Also,it is much safer than such as thermal power generation and nuclear power generation.
If there is a plant with environment where the plants can grow, electricity will be generated semi-permanently.
Furthermore, the discharged water would be useful as irrigate the growth of plants.
On school roads and rural areas, you would turn on foot guide lights so that you can pass safely the places where there is
no power supply.
You can enjoy the power of electricity even in developing countries without major electrical work.
In addition to the lights used on a daily basis, in emergencies such as earthquakes and power outages that occur frequently
these days.
It can also be expected as an emergency power source for charging cell-phones.
In addition, it supplies the light necessary for plants in dark places, converts electric power into wind power, and generates
the breeze necessary for plant growth.
It is said that plants create the necessary environment not only for humans but also for themselves.
You can also create an unprecedented cycle.

a novel plant based and home compostable alternative to animal leather

malai biomaterials design pvt. ltd.

India is world third largest cultivator of Coconuts. Every day a small coconut processing unit disposes of cca 4000 litres of water from mature coconuts in process of preparation of coconut oil. This water is discarded as waste and released into the drainage. We collect this water and feed it to a bacteria that ferments on it and produces Bacterial Cellulose. We developed a process for refining this Bacterial Cellulose into sheets of strong, flexible and water resistant material that has feel and properties similar to animal leather. Production of animal leather is on of the most polluting industries in the world and fashion, footwear and automotive companies all around the world are looking for replacement and better alternatives. Malai biocomposite can be processed using same machinery used for leather in order to make products like accessories, light footwear or interior product from it. It is home compostable, vegan and doesn’t contain any oil-based ingredients.

whiteGREY

A world-first project to upcycle plastic to strengthen marine grade concrete tiles that were placed along Sydney Harbour’s seawalls. The tiles mimic the root structure of native mangrove trees to create a habitat for organisms that filter pollutants from the ocean – effectively cleaning the water.

This is a purposeful piece of design that transforms a harmful, yet necessary, manmade structure into a marine habitat with 78 species and 73% more than the control tiles.

https://www.volvocars.com/au/why-volvo/discover/living-seawall

武蔵野美術大学大学院｜FABRIC TOKYO

The Consumer Cotton Project is a recycled cotton project based on used clothing that creates a new cycle by making us, the consumers, the producers.

In the current Japanese fashion industry, used clothes are sorted analogously by human eyes and hands, and the main circulation route is to carry out the whole process of sorting, reuse, and waste production in Asian countries where labor costs are low and where the reuse is sold. However, this is a structure that lacks the possibility and flexibility of other circulation loops, and even if circulation-based design and manufacturing were to take place, there would be no route itself, which is a major challenge in the quest for a sustainable and recycling-based industry.

The Consumer Cotton Project is an experimental social implementation project of social innovation that creates a new circular route other than the existing one by taking on the “collection and sorting” of used clothes when we, the consumers, give them away.

FabCafe Bangkok

The Food Rescue Program revolves around “rescuing” surplus good quality food that exceeds the needs of consumers for some reasons, such as almost expiration, and over or under product standard by reallocating it from hotels, restaurants, and other food-related businesses to impoverished or underprivileged communities in Thailand.
We aim for food that would otherwise be thrown away and become waste with this program by encouraging our partners in the food business sector to donate their surplus food. We also want to educate them on a better and efficient way to manage surplus food that instead of disposing surplus food into landfills, we give it to the people in need which would be proven much beneficial.
Our operation runs every day by following the pattern of morning surplus food pick-up by our Food Rescue Ambassadors from our partners’ location. During our pick-up period, we weigh all donated edible surplus food to record the measurement to a mobile application for the purpose of calculating the amount of GHG emission. Our program aims to support our food partners to manage their surplus food more efficiently by providing our collected weight data with our monthly report. We put great emphasis on hygiene standards especially during transportation, with our cold-chain trucks and food safety support, our rescued nutritious surplus food is always safe for people to consume.
After we finish collecting surplus food, we then proceed to transport them to different communities with the help of our Community Coordinator and Community Leaders as middlemen who assist in the distribution of goods and assess the outcome of each operation, in which we use their evaluations to shape and develop future campaigns.
We have set our goals of serving 25 million nutritious meals to disadvantaged people by 2025 and supporting the Thai government to reduce half of the food waste by 2030. We continuously cultivate our program to enhance food security and constantly provide support to recipients with an aim that they could become self-reliant in the future.

Agriforward Co., Ltd.

Taiwan’s hog farms faced problems with manure treatment. Because of the conventional and old waste treatment facilities were built from decades ago, it’s difficult and costly to reconstruct one to meet modern needs. Additionally, there is a tide of combining biogas generation with pastoral wastewater purification recently; however, for a small-scale hog farm, biogas generation solutions could cost them 20 million dollars, which is nearly impossible to afford it.
My team, Agriforward, a social enterprise providing sustainable and circular agriculture solutions with technologies and social innovation, we propose a new circular solution concept called “5Rs”: Redesign, Reduce, Recycle, Recovery, and Resilience, assists clients with implementing these concepts to tackle their issues.
Instead of facility reconstruction, we redesign the whole process of manure treatment and link it with environmental purpose farms, which could both purify disposed water and benefit to improve farm fertility. The total solution contains special microorganism called photo-synthetic bacteria (PSB) recycled from disposed water which could effectively reduce the concentration of ammonia nitrogen of water, and also a pump with IoT-based valve-controller that could remotely control and maintain functions of pumps and provide proper growing conditions for PSB cultivation in disposed water in an energy-saving way. After applying our circular solution, the hog farm eventually meets government’s standard of drain water.

Microorganism like PSB owns lots of benefits. First of all, it could be recycled and scaled up quantity from hog’s disposed water and reduce the concentration of ammonia nitrogen of water when PSB is added to specific concentration. Secondly, PSB could benefits sustainable farming for promoting plants’ nutrition absorption ability and lower the abundance of pests and weeds while production. Moreover, PSB could also help plants recover from overdose fertilized and improper pest control treatments. As a result, we not only introduce PSB to tackle hog manure treatment issue, but also extend the application to eco-friendly-pursued farming management. We have successfully used PSB on pomelo orchard that used to overdose pesticide and herbicide to achieve a high-quality production without chemical usage.

According to our solution, we redesign conventional hog manure treatment process; recycle good materials from disposed water; make use of recycled PSB to reduce ammonia nitrogen of disposed water and herbicide or pesticide usage of pomelo farming management; help pomelo orchard recover from improper pest control; and finally letting hog farm and pomelo orchard reach a comparatively resilience environmental condition.

Individual

We have a massive food waste problem. Every year, 1/3 of the food we produce, or 1.3 billion tonnes, is wasted. According to the UN, all that food amounts to about $750B in economic value. Furthermore, food waste & loss contributes significantly to global warming- 8% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

We tackle the issue by upcycling food waste and loss into unique products such as our CRUST beers. CRUST Group uses our Sustainable Unique Label Model to work with companies in various food and retail industries to identify their food waste and food loss. We perform R&D to develop unique products using our partners’ food waste and loss. The product is co-branded and sold on both of our platforms. Under this collaboration business model, CRUST encourages organizations to minimize their wastage in creative ways with us. Currently, we have 3 collaboration brews under our CRUST brand and we are also in the midst of fulfilling more collaborations.

CRUST aims to be the leading plug & play upcycling platform for businesses. Our mission is to empower businesses to upcycle their food waste and loss, reducing global food waste by 1% by 2030.

黒川温泉観光旅館協同組合

Kurokawa Onsen Tourism Ryokan Cooperative Association has launched the “Kurokawa Onsen Area Regional Compost Project” in September 2020.
This project is an initiative to use food residues from inns and fallen leaves in the hot spring resort area to make fully ripe compost. That compost is used by farmers to grow vegetables. Farmers sells that vegetables to inns which is served to guests.
Through this project, we are trying to reduce CO2 emissions by reducing the amount of food waste incinerated at the ryokan. In addition to our environmental efforts, we are particular about the quality of the vegetables produced and the quality of the compost. Compost quality is ensured by the Ryokan association professionals. Farmers are taking advantage of the rich soil which has advantage of high quality compost and pure source water of Minami-Oguni Town. With these advantages local farmers will grow safe and delicious vegetables. By branding, selling, and offering the resulting cyclical vegetables, we will increase the economic efficiency of inns and hot spring resorts.
In the medium to long term, in cooperation with the town of Minami-Oguni, we will reduce CO2 emissions by composting an estimated 102 tons of food residue per year at 30 inns. We will build a system for stable production and distribution of circulating brand vegetables. We will expand the circle of compost circulation not only to the hot spring resort but also to the entire town.

Create a cycle, not a fashion. Platform connected by food.

foodloop

foodloop is a multifaceted setting of contact points and effects for the three parties involved in the “food” of producers, restaurants, and consumers, from growing food to producing garbage, in each life. It is a platform for everyone involved in this project to play a leading role in circulation by fostering relationships and creating economic circulation in the region while creating opportunities to engage in circulation.
In order to protect the local environment and develop food culture, not only aiming for employment development, but also ultimately increasing the density of relationships within the region, triggered by an increase in the amount of money and time spent in the region. The purpose is to live a sustainable life.
For this purpose, by increasing the points of contact between the three parties, such as Marche, mail order, and collection of plastic waste, which tend to be divided, physical and psychological connections are created, which is based on psychological safety, attachment, and circulation. We are working to revitalize the economic activities in the region that has become.

Transformative Experiences To Return Back to Our Roots

INOW

INOW is an educational program located in Kamikatsu, Tokushima, the famous “zero-waste” village of Japan. Having no central waste disposal system, Kamikatsu’s residents must separate their garbage into 45 different categories to be recycled instead. This unique setup draws international attention to the village, and INOW is here to provide visitors with the opportunity to experience Kamikatsu’s system for themselves. Through a ten-day program, intentionally long in order to let our guests “slow down” and feel integrated into the community, INOW’s base starts with “zero-waste” but quickly expands into exploring lost wisdom of the past.

Before the ubiquitous onset of capitalism led to our current linear economy, and globalization connected the world, there existed a circular economy in every local area. Before we had a convenience culture whereby commodities are simply purchased, things were made locally by hand. Much of this knowledge is still preserved, in the countryside. INOW’s aim is to introduce exceptional locals to our guests, teaching them skills in order to foster the continuation of an almost forgotten self-sufficiency. Through living, and eating, locally, against a backdrop of magnificent nature, INOW creates an experience that allows guests to take time to reflect mindfully about what it is in life they really need.

事業開発本部

This collection of wooden furniture was born from the question of what we, as a manufacturer of wooden furniture, can and should do about the problems facing Japan’s forests, such as initiative to revitalise the forests and the industries they support.
Wood that has been cut down for various reasons, such as to encourage the growth of other trees, insect damage or disease, is considered unsuitable for furniture due to its small diameter, and is mainly used as chips for paper pulp.
And we think it is not a way utirilze its full potential.
With this collection, we as wooden furniture manufactuerer aim to promote the revitalisation of the local forestry industry and to help preserve the forests by trading these woods at a fair price and sparing no effort to turn it into peice of wooden furniture.

Producing cellulose white pigments as a sustainable alternative to titanium dioxide

Impossible Materials

IMPOSSIBLE MATERIALS is a deep-tech spinoff company from the Chemistry Department at the University of Cambridge (UK). The company’s mission is to enable businesses to work towards a circular economy by providing plant-based formulation ingredients. Our first product is a 100% cellulose-based white pigment to replace the controversial market leader titanium dioxide (TiO2) for use in paints, inks, cosmetics, pharma, and food.

Plastic Industry Development Center – Sustainable Materials Library

The Sustainable Materials Library (SML) was established by the Plastic Industry Development Center in 2020. From a material life cycle perspective, SML considers the materials that pollute the environment, the consumption of energy/resources, and difficulty in recycling, etc., and further select and sort into seven different types of materials, such as plastics, fibers, rubbers, metals, minerals, natural materials and others. Through the SML platform, the designers can look, touch and feel the special features of each material, also the developers in materials can grasp the information of market demands.

Sustainable Materials are defined as all materials that are in the stages included from collecting the raw materials, product manufacturing, the process of use and recycling of reusable materials with a minimum loading and harmless to the global environment and human health. The following is the features of sustainable materials:

．Low hazard material: eight heavy metals, plasticizer, pollutant emissions
．Energy-saving resources: low carbon, low materials consumption, foaming (lightweight), less volume (can disassemble or fold), natural materials (renewable resource), water-saving, durable (or increase of service life)
．Easy to recycle: recycled materials, single material, easy to disassemble, recycling system, decomposable…

To stimulate a new mindset on sustainable environmental protection, SML will be matching the industrial chain collaboration, also provides the service on manufacturing the prototype, begin with a concept or idea, material selection, and then produce small batch production, to fulfil the sustainable design concept for the product.

2020年，財團法人塑膠工業技術發展中心全新創立永續材質圖書館(Sustainable Materials Library, 簡稱SML)，目的以材質全生命週期的角度，考量該材質對環境的汙染性、能源/資源的耗用及回收處理的難度等，篩選分類為七大類：塑膠、纖維、橡膠、金屬、礦物、天然材料及其他類，讓設計師可以真正看到，摸到，感受到每個材料的特殊性，也讓材料開發商可以掌握市場需求的資訊。

永續材質被廣泛定義為：「在原料採集、產品製造、使用過程和使用後的 再生循環利用階段中，對地球環境和人類健 康負荷最小、最無害的材料可稱為永續材料」，永續材料包括下列特性：

．低危害物質：八大重金屬、塑化劑、汙染物排放…
．省能資源：低碳、低材料消耗、發泡(輕量化) 、減低體積(可拆解或摺疊)、天然素材(可再生資源)、省水、耐用(or延長壽命)…
．易回收：回收料、材質單一化、易拆解、有回收系統、可分解…

本館媒合產業鏈合作，提供試製打樣服務，從商品概念發想、材質應用的選擇，到小批量的試製，將永續設計的理念落實到商品上，以激盪永續環保的新思維。

Individual

Air pollution is sometimes called the “invisible killer”. Whereas in the past, smoke from factory or incinerator chimneys was a fairly reliable indication of the presence and location of toxic air, today air pollution is mostly imperceptible to the naked eye. On the contrary, a sunny day with blue skies is a condition often associated with high pollution.

Yet air pollution is omnipresent in our cities. Government institutions and universities have long been working to measure and map it. More recently, local projects and initiatives have also enabled citizens to analyse and learn more about this complex phenomenon. But too often, the data remain in libraries or laboratories and are, at best, disseminated on the internet. Where it is available, it remains incomprehensible to the uninitiated. Once again, air pollution remains in the ether, invisible.

The Canari project aims precisely at revealing air pollution.

In the past, in coal mines, canaries were carried away as a signal, alerting miners when the air became unbreathable. Seeing these birds choke (often due to too high a concentration of carbon monoxide), miners could escape before it was too late. Similarly, the Canari Project wants to raise awareness of air pollution by turning toxicity data into light signals. Using the coal mine analogy also means associating the past with the present, the mine with air pollution, faith in industrial progress and the damage it has caused.

Canari makes air pollution visible, by making the reading of data related to pollution instinctive through the light patterns that a lamp displays, their speed, and their amplitude. The objective is not only to give information to the citizens but rather to sound the alarm and alert them to the need to act at that moment, at that place.

In this spirit, the Canari project joins the movement of citizens, associations and researchers who mobilised in recent years to demand cleaner air. By raising awareness of the geography and scale of the problem, we hope to encourage community involvement and action towards a more sustainable future and put pressure on decision-makers for rapid improvements in this area.

This prototype lamp is part of a longer trajectory on air quality representation supported by Trakk through its edutainment programme that brings together academics, designers and local businesses around a science-related theme. This prototype is the result of a collaboration between academics (Nicola Da Schio and Tarek Barakat), a designer (Guillaume Slizewicz), a creative technologist (Martin Pirson) supported by the Trakk team (Marine Warzée, Laura Latour, Nathalie Cimino).

100% recycled marine plastic

individual

Since 2015, our objective has been to create a global consciousness in regard to the issues of ocean plastic contamination and the unsustainable optical and fashion industry. We have pioneered a seastainable change in the eyewear industry proving that marine plastic waste is a great source of raw material. We don’t produce glasses or watches, but a statement of change, which can be worn by anybody willing to stand for our Oceans. Our impact is environmental and social. We collect and recycle marine plastic waste, give it a second life by using it as raw material to make glasses and watches. By giving value to plastic waste and buying it from coastal communities, they benefit from a new source of income. We also raise awareness about environmental contamination and slavery in the fishing industry (with our Time4Time program).

Startup / Ltd

We believe that companies play a huge role in society and the environmental cause. Mass production, consumption, mass pollution…More than ever, the need to change our consumption habits and mentalities is being felt. That’s why, in 2017, two young entrepreneurs, Gala and Gonzalo, decided to revolutionize the paper and merchandising sector and together, plant the seed of change.

Aware that paper and single use products are deadly to our planet, Sheedo decided to turn things around and offer a totally different and innovative way of consuming these goods. They created a new concept: to replace paper and products that are used and thrown away, with ones that can be used and planted.

With paper made with recycled cotton from the textile industry that grows into plants, Sheedo is actively tackling environmental and social issues. Not only is Sheedo using recycled raw materials and giving them a second life, but Sheedo also prones zero waste, supports the biodiversity of our planet, and promotes the professional insertion of people with disabilities. By creating and selling products that can be planted, we increase people’s and companies’ awareness about these issues, while pushing them to reconnect with nature. When buying Sheedo, not only are you buying sustainability, but you are also buying quality, craftsmanship and social impact.

Circular economy is at the heart of Sheedo’s project and values. Every product is designed to be planted once its life cycle comes to an end. Giving back to nature what she generously lent us.

We use the power of business for social good, and we also support and accompany companies that wish to do the same. Our work is not only intended to help companies or people communicate in a more sustainable way, we also help people reconnect with nature and raise awareness. Our work is also intended to change our current lifestyle and rethink everything that we’ve been taught to be ‘normal’. None of what is going on today in 2021 is normal, and it is our job, as individuals, as companies and as a whole society, to make a difference.

Reuse used oil, create your own ecological detergent, in just 1 minute

Samsarapps s.l

1l of used oil can contaminate up to 1,000,000 l of water (DEFRA) Only in Spain 150 thousand tons of oil waste are generated and more than 60% falls directly into the sewer, causing the death of thousands of species, and increasing 7 times the cost of water treatment. For this, and based on the old method of making soap with caustic soda, we spent 3 years of research to create a liquid without manipulation risks that would achieve the saponification reaction (transform a fatty acid into soap) in just one minute, with pleasant aroma and useful in multiple cleaning uses. (Floor scrubbers, dishwasher and laundry detergent) Thus, any person or establishment can carry out circular economics from the source, recycle used oil, reuse it, transforming it into ecological detergent, and reduce the impact of oil, common detergents and traditional packaging. In 3 simple steps, measure, mix, shake and go.

Kaiho Industry Co., Ltd.

There are more than 1.3 billion cars in the world, of which about 30% are Japanese cars. In Japan, 3.3 million end-of-life vehicles are generated every year, while more than 1 million used vehicles are exported to developing countries every year, many of which lack recycling infrastructure and cause environmental pollution.
With 52 years of experience in dismantling and sorting end-of-life vehicles, we have developed an international quality standard (British Standard Institution, PAS777) to ensure that reusable parts can be purchased with confidence.
Furthermore, in the spirit of cooperation rather than competition, we have formed alliances with about 70 companies in the vehicle recycling industry throughout Japan to contribute to improving the profitability and added value of the entire industry. Furthermore, through the establishment of the International Recycling Education Centre (IREC), we have provided vehicle recycling training to about 200 trainees from around the world. We are responsible for the implementation of the circular economy through vehicle recycling.

Naifactory Lab

A project that uses the olive pits as a raw material, an abundant by-product whose current use is reduced to burning for biomass, and for which we have developed a recovery process to transform it into a noble material.
We began by working with small olive stone samples obtained from our own consumption.
Later we went to the olive sector to obtain the waste in bulk with less energy expenditure and took advantage of the olive stone byproduct from the milling process to extract oil. There we realized that those olive pits were actually a problem because they did not know what to do with so much waste, and this gave us even more reasons to work on developing a new solution also for the olive industry.
We apply maker culture principles combined in parallel with material research, design and prototyping to validate its use.
We imagine REolivar as a standard that can be applied in various sectors interested in the properties of the material as furniture, architecture, interior&product design, toys, or packaging.
Reolivar has participated in numerous exhibitions and has recently won the S.T.A.R.T’s prize from ARS electronics together with Remix el Barrio.

Individual

Co-Obradoiro Galego is a collaborative project between three basketmakers and a biodesigner looking at biotechniques to help regenerate and revive our Galician craft heritage.

The Atlantic Ocean has supplied the Galician and Spanish populations throughout history resulting in 602 tonnes of seafood exoskeletons being wasted every year. Therefore, the objective of our project is to develop a flexible and biodegradable biomaterial from a biopolymer found in the seafood exoskeletons, chitosan.

With this biodegradable material, we re-connect again the seafood and basketry industry, send a message about the permanence of these precious Galician basketry techniques, Galician basketry weavers through a material that disappears but reactivates the Galician economy.

Individual

Tree bank is a tree reusable system overall for the whole of Taipei city. The main issue in Taipei’s construction is during the construction process, the existing tree in the construction site will be dumped and dead with no one take care of it. By creating a reusable system for trees, like a bank system to provide a temporary home for those trees got dumped in all the construction sites in Taipei. Also, provide a platform for conservation, cultivating, and display trees as a museum. In the future, this might become a prototype of park design in Taipei city.

University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

“R + D + i TOWARDS AQUAPONIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE UP ISLANDS AND THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY. INTERREGIONAL FORWARD CHALLENGES-ISLANDAP ADVANCED” is a project belonging to the INTERREG V-A MAC 2014-2020 Program (International Cooperation Operational Program) and financed by the European Regional Development Fund. Its global strategic objective is to obtain significant and tangible progress in transnational cooperation with the objective of favoring the cohesive, sustainable and balanced territorial development of the Atlantic Area and its maritime heritage.

The transition to the Circular Economy (CE) is even more complex in island environments, where resources are less accessible and waste proportionally much higher, given that most of the GDP comes from the tourism sector. The Atlantic archipelagos of Macaronesia have millions of visitors a year, an enormous biodiversity to protect both terrestrial and marine, an increasingly less populated field, and in all of them we have the scarcity of water and the enormous waste generation as urgent problems to solve.
Promoting the sustainable use of water, the generation of food in an integrated way and promoting synergies in inter- and intra-regional research that promote the local CE are the basis for the development of this project.

The project has been designed in 3 consecutive phases:
1st) BIO PHASE – Experimental developments in aquaponic production of fish and vegetables in fresh and salt water; Pilot-scale processing tests of 5 previously selected by-products; Formulation and testing of additives and mixtures for sustainable diets of local production; Innovation in integrated production of worms and polychaetes in intermediate systems; Spread and controlled cultivation of alternative plants; Microalgae biomass and biotechnology.

2º) Improvements in the efficiency and competitiveness of aquaponic systems through automatisms, ICTs and water and energy saving according to geographical areas.

3rd) Promotion of the CE NETWORK created in a previous phase and development of operational dynamics and statistics applied to waste management and applicability in the tourism sector.

It promotes three specific objectives:
1) Coordinated research in Aquaculture, Hydroponics and Microalgae to generate innovation in value-added products and processes;

2) Coordinated research in Engineering, Aquaculture, Hydroponics and Microalgae to generate innovation in value-added products and processes in fresh and salt water systems;

3) Research and development in CE for innovation in sustainable development and bio-products adapted to the Ors (Cape Verde, Madeira and Canary Islands). Coordinated research in Economics, Engineering, Aquaculture, Hydroponics and Microalgae oriented to operational dynamics of work in NETWORK and marketing.

100% recyclable and PFC free waterproof breathable textile for the outdoor and sportswear industry

AMPHIBIO LTD

We are developing Amphitex, a new sustainable high-performance Waterproof Breathable Textile (WBTs) for use in leisure outdoor and sportswear. In this market, WBTs are highly used and currently, most contain environmentally harmful chemicals PFCs and PTFE, including the market leader Gore-tex. These harmful chemicals are beginning to be regulated and/or banned and manufacturers are finding it difficult to develop high performing alternatives. Most WBTs are also multi-material structures that cannot be recycled, creating large sums of pre and post-consumer waste that ends up in landfill or is incinerated, causing further environ

Amphitex is the first mono-material 100% recyclable high-performance WBT, which is free from PFCs & PTFE, coming to market at an opportune time to help manufacturers meet tightening regulations.

株式会社ディスカバーリンクせとうち

REKROW was founded as a platform for achieving sustainable, local, and “circular” economies, particularly in work wear fashion. REKROW is committed to the responsible development of Hiroshima as a center of cotton and denim manufacturing.

Produce with local manufacturers
Collect Salvageable, Used Workwear
Clean-up, Select, Deconstruct
Plan, Produce
Branding, Sales, Marketing

◆Updating Sustainable Textile Manufacturing
＜Mission＞
Update sustainable Textile Manufacturing though workwear.
1. Produce cool and functional workwear.
2. Upcycle used workwear into various new items.
3. Preserve the legacy by passing on textile manufacturing skills to the next generation.

＜Vision＞
As a team we continually refine our technology and ideas. This happens in the process of developing new workwear and upcycling used ones. Another important goal is to expand new business and employment opportunities responsibly.

＜Value＞
It all began when we discovered how genuinely “cool” worn-out workwear is. Instead of being discarded and of no use, we found the pieces give extra value to upcycled new items. Our original idea is ready to launch into creating a new “circular” and sustainable manufacturing and mindful consuming.

TômTex Inc

Leather is the most environmentally harmful textile to produce. Turning skin into leather uses dangerous chemicals, including a toxic tanning process, causing negative impacts on the environment and workers’ health safety. Additionally, millions of wild animals are killed solely for their skin every year to produce exotic leather. On the other hand, we have the alternative – synthetic vegan leather. Unfortunately, they are made out of plastic and take hundreds of years to degrade. Nowadays, customers are far more concerned about brands’ social and environmental responsibility. Therefore, sustainable materials such as leather alternatives became significantly in demand among big brands and designers. By 2028, the vegan leather market will be worth 57 billion dollars, growing 18% annually.
At TômTex, we see our opportunity in food waste. The food industry generates 8 million tons of seashell waste. With our patent-pending technology, we use seafood shell waste and mushrooms to produce our leather-like material. Unlike animal leather, there is no toxic tanning process involved in our production. Also, we don’t use plastics and backing fabric, which are included in the production of faux leather. At the end of life, TômTex products can be recycled into TômTex production or fully biodegradable in a natural environment. In addition to being eco-friendly, our biomaterial does not compromise in quality. TômTex biomaterial is as strong as leather but half the price. It’s also durable, holding up to industrial sewing and fabrication. We’ve created a near-endless array of colors and finishes using 100% natural substance. Besides that, we also developed a method to precisely replicate exotic skin textures to address the exotic-animal skin demand.

A flea market for non-standard products and dead stock products.

株式会社スマイルズ

PASS THE BATON MARKET is a flea market that collects non-standard items and dead stock items (food, clothing, furniture, accessories, stationery, crafts, etc.) that were sleeping in the warehouse. It started in 2019 as a place to face the “mottainai” and “problems” of companies, brands, and production areas and introduce them to the society. As an issue for Japanese companies, there are “defective stocks” that are out of the commercial distribution, such as B products that could not meet the standards due to high quality standards and D products that lost sales opportunities. Instead of discarding them, they pass on the products and their stories to consumers, and while providing consumers with an awareness of “why this product becomes a nonstandard product,” they are creating new consumer activities. In addition, it is used as a resource for future manufacturing so that the defective inventory of companies can be converted into assets and new creativity can be sprouted. The total number of exhibitors held five times is 97, and the number of kilns is 130. It is an initiative to change the business model and the flow of goods by forming a scrum between companies regardless of the size of the company or the industry.

DOT DESIGN

​The Rice Husk Beach Toys, which is a three-part toy inspired, and uses 100% biodegradable material with neither pollution nor toxic generated in the degradation process.
Even if inadvertently being discarded in an environment, the rice husk beach toys are biodegradable and would reduce harm for the environment.
Furthermore, we aim to achieve zero waste by simplifying the packaging design,
Collect rice husk from farmers​, add natural starch to rice husk to make industrial raw materials​, adopt industrial processes to manufacture the product​ and Long lifetime – used material can be recycled at least 3-5 times.

The design uses rounded edges with medium chroma color matching to reduce the child’s excessive visual stimulation. Let children coordinate the movements of the sand training muscles, and also achieve aesthetic education.
The combination of design is convenient to transport and reduce the volume of the package.
The addition of holes in the rake design can also filter out large gravel; It is combined with the toy model to take the concept of the castle as one of the interesting features. Play the sand process and build children’s relationships through simple tools.
When playtime is over, snap the shovel and rake together for easy transport.

Recycle 800,000 tons of industrial waste.

ニシナカユキト GLASS STUDIO

This is an art project to create the future of the earth by recycling 800,000 tons of industrial waste into resources.
The concept of the project is “Eternal circulation, Filled with beauty.”
The purpose of this project is to spread awareness of the issue of resource recycling in society through artworks created with recycled glass from waste solar panels.
1) Dedication of the artwork to the Ise Jingu Shrine.
The discarded glass of solar panels, which has finished its role of generating electricity, will be transformed into art with the concept of “eternal circulation.
The concept of the Jingu shrine, which enshrines Amaterasu, the sun goddess, and which has been repeatedly rejuvenated (Tokowaka) for 1,300 years through relocation (Sengu), is in line with the concept of this project, making it an ideal place for the artwork.
2) Objects made of melted glass (pieces of the earth) will be installed on the moon.
An art project to rethink the future of the sun, the moon and the earth.
In the year 203X, sightseeing trips to the Moon will be common.
Taking a selfie in front of the Apollo astronaut’s flag and the glass object of Nishinaka Yukito will become a trend.
Cooperation: Japan Manned Space Systems Corporation (JAMSS)

Waveee Design Studio

Looop Can is a cleaning kit for washing reusable menstruation pad for reducing period poverty in water-scarcity regions. Using Buoyancy Force, the tool reduces water required for washing pads and gyroscope mechanisms to spin without too much human effort input.

Tracing garments through supply chains

Fujitsu

tex.tracer was founded by Bart Westerman and Jolanda Kooi who have assembled extensive fashion industry experience working in China and Hong Kong, and both now run separate importing companies in Amsterdam.
Fujitsu has been globally active in Blockchain technology since 2015 when it was an early member of the Hyperledger project, an open-source community focused on developing stable frameworks for enterprise-grade Blockchain deployments.

The fashion industry has faced criticism over how its supply chains operate. Although they may want more transparency, brand owners and retailers have never had an effective way to achieve it. With the new supply chain transparency platform called tex.tracer, brand owners receive the insights they need to act upon and with the click of a button report to all stakeholders. By scanning a QR code on a garment with their mobile, consumers can trace the garment’s history.

On the tex.tracer platform, information is obtained from brand owners when they register a garment, and the system automatically emails companies down the supply chain. Data is verified using mobile geolocation, time stamps and digital handshakes, certification, and automated checks. If anomalies are detected, the system will not accept the data entry. Once verified, the data is stored using Blockchain to ensure privacy, trustworthiness, and credibility. Blockchain provides a public electronic ledger that can be openly shared among disparate users to create an unchangeable record of transactions with each entry time-stamped and linked to the next one.

Individual

Farmers in Taiwan prune about 2 million metric tons of branches and vines of fruit trees each year. They were used as fuel in the past. Later, because of the widespread use of gas, farmers didn’t know how to deal with them, and they burned indiscriminately, causing environmental damage. In order to recycle these wastes, the “oxygen-limited carbonization” technology developed by me can be used to make “biochar”, which can be returned to the farmland to improve the acidified soil and provide potash fertilizer. After being retorted, cooled and collected, the smoke generated during the carbonization process can be made into “wood vinegar “, which has the effect of sterilizing, deodorizing, and reducing pesticide replacement by half. It can also be made into nutrient solution and non-toxic natural pesticides. This set of equipment is simple, low cost, easy to operate, and worthy of promotion.
I plan to expand my current vine carbonization test site into a community carbonization treatment site, and serve as a Taiwan carbonization education training center to promoting”circular agriculture” to farmers. In this way, the pruned branches and vines can be processed, and the rural living environment can be improved. At the same time, the use of chemical pesticides can be reduced, and friendly farming and organic cultivation can be promoted, so that the earth’s resources can continue to flourish.

Fighting for a world without food waste

Espigoladors Foundation

Espigoladors is a non-profit organisation born in 2014 in Catalonia, Spain. We fight for a better food usage while empowering people at risk of social exclusion from a transformative, participative, inclusive and sustainable way. We act upon three social challenges: developing a replicable and transferable model able to impact food waste reduction, enhancing access to an adequate diet and generating new opportunities for people at risk of social exclusion.

Central Saint Martins UAL

Harnessing cyanobacteria’s intrinsic ability to biomineralize for the design of novel biofabrication strategies.

Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic organisms that can be found in almost all habitats. My project is inspired by research from the University of Colorado at Boulder, which demonstrated that strong bricks could be created through cyanobacteria biomineralization.

The organism played a fundamental part in my design approach and contributed to the final aesthetics, which are dictated by the way this organism binds its substrate. No two are alike. The temples and front of the frame are made of biomineralized material, while cyanobacteria pigment phycocyanin was used as a print.  My process could be optimized to offset its emissions and the product is designed to be remanufactured at the end of its life.

In order to support my research I have been co-supervised by Dr. Paolo Bombelli, Postdoctoral Researcher from the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge (UK). Special thanks: Dr. Megan Barnett, Prof. Saul Purton, Freddie Elborne (MONC).

Individual

Bees pollinate over 66% of the world’s crops and contribute to one-third of the food we eat. Solitary bees represent 90% of the species , but their population is dramatically declining.

Symbeeosis®, proposes a scented candle which once consumed turns into a nesting site for solitary bees on balconies, courtyards and gardens, with a demonstrated impact on their population.

Symbeeosis® is made of sustainable wax with a bio-compatible scent for bees. The bio-receptive material of the container was designed to host mosses and lichen that will slowly biodegrade it.

Symbeeosis® empowers consumers to contribute to a better world and to restore a relationship with nature.

greenYng

greenYng has developed a global digital platform for the transformation of the waste value chain whose mission is to reduce the tons of waste that go to landfill/incineration, increased the flow of the circular economy, giving value to the locality where it is produced.
To achieve this, a global digital platform has been developed that is already in production (Smart platform on Microsoft -> 2 million lines of code- Smart devices, Smart energy plants,…) whose clients will be the large waste operators. The main characteristics to highlight: waste traceability, individual waste counter (citizen, organization), gamification, carbon footprint reduction, and calculation, digital currencies, digital redefinition of models such as door to door, sddr, etc.

HEY SHENG Creative Inc.

2019 was the year many stone industry enterprisers in Hualien passed the torch to the youngsters of their second or even third generations, who expressed eagerness for brand building and innovative design. “Back to Original” has been set as the start and end vision of the 2019 Hualien International Stone Workshop by the curator team HEY SHENG with this strong desire and need hence became the foundation and enabled to organize of the technical and design resources as well as bringing stone enterprises together to jointly establish an industry cluster. Combine the cultural technology with the particularity of emotional craft, which shows the superiority to make design sustainable. Discovers more diverse sides of stone materials by bringing emotions and warmth to crafts and designs.
The entire program puts cultural and technological strengths together and brings the focus back to the original values of the raw materials. Designers with experiences in mass production joined forces with stone manufacturers, utilizing the idea of “Micro Production” between customization and mass production and therefore taking Taiwan into a new “stone brand generation”. Taiwan’s stone brands will be able to exhibit the width and depth of their energies, extend their design capacities, and promoting them to collaborate with diverse global industries in terms form a positive cycle for the industry chain.
All participants should be in strategic thinking. Both the industry with skillful techniques as well as industrial designers with mass production experiences had to start from diverse perspectives and, instead of completing single creative pieces, integrate their own professional manufacturing or designing ideas with Micro Production and come up with proposals that meet market demands. This is a brand new territory for the local stone industry and hence the theme of the 2019 Hualien International Stone Workshop, fully displaying the compounded potentials and values between the stone industry and brand designs in Taiwan. All participants made great strides via 4+1 steps in the workshop, and the Micro Production is the pathway leading to the program’s outstanding results, and the indispensable players are the stone industry and industrial designers that have partnered up at the Workshop. The industry contributes manufacturing strengths and processing challenges, while the designers bring in observations, ideas, and inspirations. The power of design has been at full force throughout the entire program, from entering stone factories, searching the true nature of the stone materials with designers, to introducing designers’ capacities in crafts, mass production, and technology at different processing stages to explore material characteristics. Based on micro-production, stone enterprises’ foresight in markets and environmental protection, the strong supply chains provided by partnering manufacturers, and designers’ expertise in customization and mass production, are all combined to showcase the stone industry’s strengths and increase product values.