This collection of everyday items is 3D printed from disused wheat bran to create zero waste

Greenfill3d is a Polish home goods and furniture company that uses wheat bran waste to 3D print home goods items like storage compartments and advertising racks.

One of the easiest ways we can reduce our personal carbon footprint is by taking a look at the build of items we use on a daily basis. A closer look reveals that many of the products we surround ourselves with are made from materials that aren’t so great for the landfill. Designed for obsolescence, most of these plastic-based products end up in landfills where they might remain for years to come.

Hoping to change the way we consume home goods and everyday products, the Polish company Greenfill3d produces items that are made from biodegradable or bio-compostable materials in accordance with the ideas of zero-waste and the circular economy.

Designer: Greenfill3d

Each item that comprises Greenfill3d’s home goods collection is composed of multiple parts that are 3D-printed individually. The advertising stand, for instance, consists of 34 individual elements, each of which are 3D-printed separately and then pieced together for an easy assembly.

Each product from Greenfill3d’s collection is made from one of three sustainable materials: GF3D Branfill3d (wheat bran material), BioWOOD (wood powdered material), and BioCREATE (compostable material). In collaboration with one of Europe’s largest food producers, Greenfill3d collects wheat bran waste from pasta.

From there, the waste is measured for production before it’s combined with polylactic acid (PLA) to develop a filament used in 3D printing. This mixture of PLA and wheat bran waste, what Greenfill3d calls GF3D, is then fed into 40 3D printers to create everyday items like storage cabinets and advertising racks.

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Carlo Ratti’s Orange Juice Machine serves OJ in cups made from 3D printed orange peels

Sustainability isn’t as difficult as one might think. In the past few months we’ve seen so much in the way of using ecologically conscious materials, from t-shirts made entirely from eucalyptus and algae, to leather made from beer mash, to liquid soap bottles made from actual soap! The bottom line is, designers are always finding creative ways to deal with waste and to develop newer ways to manufacture products in a way that’s sustainable and circular. Take for instance Carlo Ratti’s Circular Orange Juice Bar, an innovative machine that uses every bit of the orange to provide a delightful drinking experience. At first, the oranges are laid out right on the top, in an innovative spiral rail. The oranges instantly become the juice bar’s branding, as their vibrant tangerine color is visible from a distance. Approach the bar, and the oranges, laid out in a nice umbrella shape, provide shade as you sip your juice. As for the juice, each orange is transported, cut, and squeezed by a machine fresh on the spot. The peel is discarded into the bottom pit which dries the waste out, pulverizes it to a fine powder, and binds it with PLA to turn it into a 3D printable filament. This filament is fed right into a 3D printer that prints your juice-cup right in front of you, with your freshly squeezed juice in it! You can discard each cup, as it’s completely biodegradable, giving you a product and experience that is derived from nature, and can return completely to nature with absolutely no impact!

Designer: Carlo Ratti Associati

PocketMaker is literally a palm-sized, low-cost 3D printer!

Determined to make 3D printing accessible to all, the PocketMaker was created to be an incredibly competitive, low-cost, value-for-money printer to beat all other printers. Unlike most 3D printers that occupy a good 4-9 sq.ft. of space, the PocketMaker literally occupies the same amount of space as your palm and fingers, and comes with a detachable/replaceable printer head/extruder that you can easily swap when you find the nozzle getting blocked. The PocketMaker comes with plastic rails, not only bringing down the cost, but the weight too, and while plastic-to-plastic movement isn’t as smooth as a metal-on-metal gear/rail system, the PocketMaker’s small size makes up for it, giving you a tiny, low-cost printer that is capable of generating 8*8*8cm prints with no hassle. The PocketMaker works with PLA filament, allowing its baseplate to remain plain (unlike ABS printers that need a heated plate), truly working to create a proper, easy-to-use printer that’s low on space and cost, but high on possibilities!

The PocketMaker is a winner of the A’ Design Award for the year 2019.

Designers: Lang Qiyue and Yang Tian