Scientists around the world have discovered that eggshell or eggshell components can either be turned into bioplastics or added to existing bioplastics to make them more robust and at the same time keep their biodegradable features. Researchers from University of Saskatchewan have even discovered that a bioplastic made of eggshell and other biodegradable materials can clean water from excess phosphates that result from agrigulture. Phosphate is widely used as a fertilizer in agriculture but tends to poison water once it gets there. The eggshell bioplastic developed by the scientists could absorb that phosphate and clean the water from it. Instead of adding more phosphate to the ecosystem farmers could reuse that phosphate formerly cleaned from the waters. Students from the University of Hohenheim created a plastic foil like product made from eggshell for instant noodles. The noodles can be cooked with the "plastic" that will completely dissolve in the water and even add healthy nutriens to the noodles.
Swedish start-up Reselo has developed a technique to turn birch bark into a material similar to rubber. This is possible thanks to the biopolimer called suberin that some plants - including birch trees - are producing naturally. The rubberlike product can be vulcanized and easily be shaped. Shoe soles, car tyres, automotive components,.. you name it. Some of already existing rubber has always been made of plants (rubber tree). But rubber trees are often planted as monoculture in rainforest areas. And ecologically precious rainforest is being desroyed. The birch tree however is already part of natural forests in the northern hemisphere. When we start using birch barks for rubber production in Europe, we could reduce rubber tree monocultures in rainforest areas and fossil made rubber that is bad for carbon footprint and generates plastic waste. Birch bark by the way has been used for centuries in Siberia and can be used for different applications even without turning it into rubber. As German based company moya shows.
Real (non vegan) leather from animals accounts for 26% of major slaughterhouses´ earnings. Which means while the main purpose of slaughtering cows is meat, its skin could be an additional motive to kill animals. Also, as the documentary SLAY reveals, leather production often uses toxic chemicals that are harming the environment. But even if (responsibly produced (1, 2, 3, 4 )) cow leather is considered a useful byproduct of animal parts that would otherwise be wasted, demand for leather is overpassing production rate. That´s why we are currently producing a lot of synthetic leather (or pleather) which is cheaper and vegan. Its downside: It is plastic. Made of fossil fuels like any other plastic product.
A whole bunch of good arguments to do what? - Exactly. Make leather out of orange and cactus byproducts! That`s what Italian company ohoskin was thinking. And since a lot of oranges are being slaughtered for the sake of orange juice in Sicily, it is a genius idea to turn its byproduct into stylish Italian fashion.
It is by the way also possible to make leather out of pineapple, cactus, banana crop waste, mushrooms, mango, grapes, cork or fish skin from fishing waste. Like meat that is being grown in the lab (see this post in food), there is also at least one company that is producing leather in the lab which they claim to be much more sustainable, too.
Mushrooms may play a significant role in the future. Not only are they able to dissolve our plastic waste (see Recycling / Managing Waste). We can also use mushrooms to not even have to produce plastic in the first place. By creating biodegradable materials that are just as practical for wrapping up things as plastic is. Without the huge disadvantages of real plastic (emitting CO2 that comes from fossil fuels, littering the ocean and endangering animals living there, increasing the amount of potentially harming microplastics in nature). Researchers found that mycelium, which can be described as the mushroom's root-system, has the right properties for being shaped into wrapping similar to styrofoam. Companies like ecoactive have developped techniques to form mycelium into pretty much any shape immaginable.
Seaweed seems to play an important role in the (hopefully not so far) sustainable future. Different companies are trying to develop packaging products made of it. Seaweed has the potential to replace practically all plastic packagings. One of those companies is Noriware. They have developped a "plastic film" made 100% of organic materials. AS it is the case with Evoware, sometimes those packagings are even edible.
A German based company "leaf republic" used to produce single use plates out of leaves which is a great environmentally friendly alternative to single use plastic. There are currently plates made of palm leaf, bamboo leaf, banana leaf, sugarcane, grass,.. So next time you are planning a party or for your stand at the next food festival look for plates that are biodegradable.
The advantage of plates made of leaves is that those leaves would normally rot unused anyway. By using them as plates no trees need to be cut and no chemicals are used that can harm the environment and less energy is needed because the material doesn't have to be produced first which is lowering its carbon footprint.
Probably the main part of its CO2 footprint comes from its transportation so if possible try find "leaf plates" who were produced near to your location. Check out following links for additional info on the topic.
Since Nestlé invented the espresso coffee machine with capsules (Nespresso) we have to deal with additional waste. In Switzerland we try to recycle the alunminium made capsules. But while the recycling process itself affords energy a part of the capsules that are being shipped around the world will likely end up in landmills or even the sea. Swiss retailer Migros therefore has invented coffee "capsules" that are made of nothing but compressed coffee! The so called Coffee B. For those who have a Nespresso machine already at least there are capsules now that are made of paper and biodegradable. There is also a company that produces Nespresso compatible capsules made of waste wood.