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.
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.
Did you know that 75 years ago, every kitchen was a zero-waste kitchen? Fun fact: in 1926, Austrian architect Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky’s kitchen had a wall of bins to store ingredients without any packaging at all! The concept of a zero-waste kitchen is not new and is certainly still in practice in many South Asian and East Asian countries that still use traditional storing and packaging methods. Obviously, our lives have changed and advanced tremendously over the last 75 years, so Ivana Steiner of Vienna is designing a zero-waste kitchen that fits our modern lifestyle and homes.
Steiner visited six zero-waste stores in Vienna for research and as an architect who has always loved working on kitchens, she took it upon herself to bring change through design. She wanted to dedicate her kitchen design to work around the current climate crisis while combating it. “Zero Waste does not hope that politics and business will tell you how and when you will implement your environmental measures and goals, but rather that each of us can actively contribute to climate protection through a resource-saving lifestyle. Zero waste not only includes avoiding waste but also how we deal with nutrition and cooking. If we concentrate on fewer, regional foods without packaging, we can actually implement changes in our immediate surroundings,” says Steiner.
This zero-waste kitchen is built from recycled stainless steel made in electric arc furnaces and it lasts forever. The large table is the core of the design, it is meant to be used as a cooking and eating surface. The structure has designated areas for glass containers, baskets for fruit and vegetables, a worm box, storage space for multi-purpose vessels, linen bags, and a vertical herb garden – it is indeed a highly functional and multi-faceted design! The worm box regularly provides humus which can be used for the herb garden and if the kitchen is in a dark area of the house or if you live in a country with little sunlight then you might need a daylight lamp for your herb garden.
The built-in herb garden and worm composter together make the process very efficient even for those who are taking beginner steps into a sustainable lifestyle – this way, you’re set up for success because the maintenance is integrated into how the kitchen functions. This kitchen stores everything in jars to avoid producing waste in the form of bin liners. Jars are also easier to refill if you take them to your grocery store. This was a fairly calculated design decision as the buying trend moves towards more unpacked items, especially in urban areas where the food is stored and sold in glass containers to encourage reuse. Glass jars are also sealed tightly compared to bins making it a more sanitary option.
Since the design is based on a minimalist lifestyle, the kitchen deliberately does not include upper cupboards or extra storage. You only keep things that you use every day – a limited number of 12 deep plates, 12 flat plates and 12 small flat plates, 12 water glasses, and 8 wine glasses are used and stored comfortably in the zero-waste kitchen. There is no dishwasher but it does come with a double sink for all intents and purposes as well as a rack for dishtowels. However, studies have shown that dishwashers are actually more efficient and save resources!
The European-style kitchen has a lot of prep space in form of pullout panels, a small oven as well as a tiny fridge behind the Planet B typography. Zero Waste Kitchen is small, deliberate, and purposeful in every detail and encourages a life of fresh food without waste!
Our unhealthy practices and way of living are truly harmful to the environment and have been slowly leading to its deterioration. And the world has been changing (for the worse) because of this. Hence, it is extremely important to live sustainably and consciously and to take care of the environment. Integrating sustainability into our day-to-day lives has become crucial! And we can do this in various ways. Designers and creators are coming up with sustainable alternatives for almost everything! Every product that is necessary and utilized by us in our everyday routine has an eco-friendly alternative to it. Replacing our usual mass-produced designs with these greener options will make a huge difference to the environment and Mother Earth! From a sustainable underground fridge that keeps food chilled naturally, to the world’s first sustainable workstation, we’ve curated a whole collection of sustainable product designs to help you go green!
Cellars have been used across the ages to store food or even act like bunker houses in case of natural disasters. Groundfridge takes that design one step further by adding fresh food refrigeration to the game. The trick used by Groundfridge is by utilizing the natural insulating capacity of the ground and the cooler night air temperatures. The balance of this design allows you to store your vegetables, fruits, cheese, and even wine throughout the year. Ventilating this project uses a fan with a timer that replenishes the cool air during the night. Too hot for comfort? An additional cooler can be used to power it during the hottest summer days. “The Groundfridge is dug in and covered with the excavated soil from its new location. This covering layer of soil is about 1 meter thick and has good insulating properties for the core temperature within the Groundfridge to barely vary. Furthermore, your Groundfridge is fitted with a ventilator.” I can see this system become a sustainable alternative in family housing societies trying to adopt a more eco-friendly style of living.
The Everloop Toothbrush from NOS tackles this problem head-on by using a recycled plastic handle and disposable bamboo bristles. Taking on a unique cradle-to-cradle approach, the brush comes with a plastic handle that is, in fact, made from recycled toothbrushes. At the very end is a clamping mechanism that allows you to attach 100% natural bamboo bristles to the toothbrush’s head. The idea is to retain the plastic handle and periodically replace the bamboo bristles every few months. The bamboo bristles have absolutely no plastic in them, allowing them to easily be disposed of, or composted in a way that doesn’t harm the environment.
Oquari is a biodegradable razor with comes with interchangeable heads that aim to provide a sustainable alternative that can help reduce the burden on the environment. The razor is made with PBS Bionelle as well as stainless steel blades as part of a regenerative approach and it degrades in aquatic environments. Its design is specifically geared at reducing manufacturing processes and facilitate the separation of its elements at the end of its life so that it becomes an accessible, attractive, and economical product without being recognized as “disposable” which the team refers to as ‘monstrous hybrid’ – a term coined by
Inspired to create a standing fan that’s not white, plastic, and likely to end up on the sidewalk come September, design group Ttato built Aura. Minimal by conscious design, Aura’s build was stripped down to its bare components: cage, propeller, base, and motor. Built to be a home appliance that can be used throughout the year, Aura was specifically built for optimal functionality. Constructed with materials that were selected for their sustainability, durability, and beauty, Aura exudes a sophisticated air and follows that through with detailed functionality. Aura’s rotor blades, for instance, were formed from the overlaying and bending of birch and ash veneers, lengthening the rotor blades’ lifespan while celebrating the craft of woodworkers.
Pith & Stem describes its sustainable DropTop workstation as fully integrated and plug-and-play ready, meaning that it comes kitted out with a pair of 24-inch full-HD monitors and USB/USB-C cables for charging and connecting to Windows and Mac laptops. Beneath these monitors are two storage areas for said laptops or other odds and ends. The workstation itself is made from thick birch plywood that can be finished in either black or white satin, with the front folding down to form a desk measuring 120 x 60 cm (47 x 24 in) that is held in place by custom hinges, which appear to be rather strong.
Made from wheat husk for its base and PHA for the lid, Reuse serves as a fully compostable food container that not only amplifies our experience consuming takeout food but creates a conversation around our high-consumption habits and the negative effect they have on our environment. Wheat husk and PHA, a bacteria-based composite that works like a natural plastic derived from organic materials, can both be composted as food waste, without additional industrial-level composting facilities.
Nuclée is a lamp created from discarded banana flesh and it is….truly bananas! The minimal lamp puts the sustainable material front and center with a bamboo circle around it to highlight it. Banana fibers from the plantations are usually considered as waste after the traditional extraction process and cast aside. However, the designers were intrigued by this. material and found it fascinating when working with a lighting design concept. After empirical research, they succeeded in stabilizing the plant tissue using a particular refining technique and after applying different pressure as well as heat parameters. This new material is highlighted by shapes of bent bamboo, inspired by the internal structure of the banana tree stem and that is how the form of Nuclée mood lights came to be.
Switch is an award-winning toothbrush design with sustainability at its core. It allows you to replace only the brush head and keep the long-lasting metal handle. Manually replace the head by simply twisting the top of the toothbrush to remove and replace the head with a range of options. Switch is produced from recycled materials and the first of its kind available for mass production so it can make an impact quickly when distributed in the market. The design was one of the Red Dot Design Awards 2021 winners as well as a part of the iF Design Awards 2021. The bristles change color indicating that the head needs to be changed and ensuring effective cleaning.
CANNE addresses the problem of people not having the motivation to join a CPR course because of fewer opportunities, fewer interests, high cost, fast-paced lifestyle, and less awareness. CPR training also requires mannequins which are expensive and given the population of China, teaching cost is a big factor to keep in mind. The less qualified full-time instructors, short supply, and overworked skilled physicians were other significant barriers that were uncovered during research. CANNE addresses these problems with its cost-effective, sustainable, and easily accessible design. It provides a self-directed CPR learning experience for every citizen and can be broken down into two parts – a corrugated cardboard Basic Life Support (BLS) learning kit and a BLS self-directed smartphone app.
Eunsang Lee has designed 5A1, a modular, infinity room divider that can be endlessly reconfigured to extend the product’s life cycle. Feeling a sense of responsibility as a designer to create more sustainable products, Eunsang Lee turned to room dividers to reinterpret the classic piece of furniture. Today, new products are typically made from materials with short life cycles, leading to more consumption and waste. Constructed from responsibly sourced and sustainable materials like wood and steel, 5A1 is a minimal room divider, formed by hanging steel cables where steel and wooden modules can be attached and configured to hang clothes, mirrors, or even plants. Inspired by the act of communication between people, the 5A1 room divider comes with modules that can be attached, forming infinite configurations and a multifunctional piece of home decor.
You know my love for cabins and sustainability, I am always searching for the best cabins to go live in once the pandemic is over and sustainable designs that can help slow down the climate crisis. I finally found a design that marries them both and this is the most perfect cabin to exist on my list – a 100% self-sustaining and sustainable off-the-grid cabin that focuses on enjoying as well as preserving the environment it is in! They invented an assembly architecture that is fully adaptable to the environment and doesn’t even need a boom truck to be transported because of the construction technology (through assemblies) – the team takes the materials anywhere even when the construction site is far from the car path.
The latest cabin by the company is called Krul and is developed to perform independently of passive systems. The interiors are designed in a way to allow maximum natural sunlight, especially during winters to keep it naturally warm as much as possible. The orientation of the structure also maintains breezy natural ventilation even during summers. The water harvested or used is naturally treated through a worm-based Lombrifiltro system – think of it as biomimicry of our natural ecosystem. It provides enough for reuse (shower to WC), sanitation, drinking water, and sewage system. The wood used is treated with the best product on the market, certified without chemicals, and the best sealing technology in the world Rothoblass. The cabin completely eliminates the need for fossil fuels, external services, and bills!
ZeroCabin wants to change the habits of its occupants by providing the tools to live sustainably. “It is not about ‘what happens if the water-scarce,’ the questions these days should be ‘if the waters scarce, are my habits according to the water available in the place where I live? If the solar energy is not enough, are my consumption habits according to the energy available?” adds the team when talking about the thought process behind the design. All ZeroCabins regardless of the modality you buy (turnkey or DIY) have a structural base that allows optimal capture of their only two inputs, just like trees: sun and rainwater. The cabin maximizes functionality oversize but includes a wide range of modifications you can do based on the land you want to put it on and as long as it is aligned with their environmental guidelines.
Additionally, the company also encourages all cabin owners to be a part of their 100% ecological tourism network. Every cabin kit sold finances planting of native trees according to the reforestation campaigns. “We do not seek to make houses with character, spatiality, or identity … our architect is nature and its rules, and from there we create something for you. The result is a respectful mutualism that will not break the limits of the environment and in gratitude, you will be able to live without accounts happy of life for the rest of your life,” says the team with utmost love for their work and their efforts to help the environment. ZeroCabin is a home that adapts to you and the planet seamlessly.
Microsoft has set some big environmentally focused goals for itself, and it plans to achieve them over the next 10 years. In addition to reaching carbon negative status by 2030, the tech giant has revealed that it also aims to have zero waste operati...
A zero-waste lifestyle is something we should all aspire towards. Whether it’s by trying our hand at composting, reusing products, or buying products that are recyclable and eco-friendly, we can all start by taking a few steps. Luckily designers have been coming up with designs that support a zero-waste lifestyle. So, here are a couple of designs that will help you kickstart your zero-waste journey!
Ditching the notion that computer peripherals must always be made of plastic, the Ice Mouse is a nifty, ergonomic wireless mouse with an unusual (yet justified) choice of materials that are a combination of renewable and recyclable. Say hello to Ice Mouse, probably the world’s first computer mouse with a bamboo and aluminum body, designed by Aloic.
Research shows that almost 1.3 billion tons of food end up in landfills every year, that’s 1/3rd of the total production of food itself. One option to reduce food wastage is composting. Orre is a modular compact composter that is ideal for everyday use in our homes. In fact, it’s so compact, that you can easily carry it around from one room to another! Featuring a matte black finish and a quirky cork stand, Orre is visually attractive and inviting.
An academic project gave birth to Coolpaste, created by Allan Gomes for the Federal University of Minas Gerais – the eco-friendly alter ego of our trusty old toothpaste. The aim was to develop a sustainable packaging design for toothpaste in a way that didn’t affect their durability while being transported or stacked on shelves.
Designed for nature, and from nature, the Alphapot transforms food waste into a molded, modular planter. Its grave to cradle approach reduces waste by turning the food we throw away into a planter that can be used to grow plants, allowing the waste to serve a much nobler purpose.
Indian designer, Saksham Mahajan, has come up with a sustainable version of an iron made from bamboo. The designer started the project as a challenge to explore bamboo as a material, “It’s sustainability can be exploited to make so many different things”, says Saksham
Created from recycled borosilicate glass, these straws are sculptural beauties. Recyclable, reusable, hypoallergenic, and easy to clean and maintain, these aesthetic straws also make for eye-catching centerpieces and are designed by Benjamin Hubert of London-based design agency Layer.
Bubble is a food tracker, that monitors our food consumption, in an attempt to encourage a healthier lifestyle and to reduce food wastage. It promises to track, store, and replenish our food items in accordance with our needs. Bubble identifies and tracks all the items placed within it. It directly sends updates to your smartphone, so you’re always aware of what’s in your kitchen! You can track which food products you consume the most, and what you consume the least.
The regular shoes you wear may eventually end up in a landfill, but even a decade of wearing them results in sole abrasion, which causes plastic microparticles to enter the ground and atmosphere. By ditching the very use of synthetic polymers, WAES’ shoes have a significantly lower impact on the environment, and they biodegrade naturally, creating less waste in the long run.
Soapack is an innovative series of liquid soap bottles, made from soap themselves. The solid outer bottle holds the liquids inside, and can eventually be used as soap once you’re done with it, leaving you with absolutely zero waste. The bottles are designed to look luxurious and desirable too, relying on soap’s inherent translucency along with beautiful perfume-bottle-inspired forms and a soft pastel color palette.
The Be. toothbrush aims at providing the experience of an electric toothbrush, but without the electric bit. Devoid of motors, and batteries, and circuit boards, the Be. uses a wind-up mechanism we’ve seen being used for long in toys and timers. It simply converts one form of energy into another, allowing you to merely rotate a dial on its base that then winds up a mechanism within the toothbrush body, causing the head to vibrate as would any electric toothbrush.
The Newton Espresso Machine is a minimal, lever-free coffee machine. It allows users to craft their coffee in a manual and industrial manner. The hands-on coffee brewing experience leaves behind no waste!
Karden by Tommy Cheong and Keith JX Lee is a starter kit designed to help you get started with composting in the comfort of your own home or even your workspace! The kit comes along with soil and compost starter. So you simply pop them into the compost bin along with the waste and shake it daily for 1-2 months. When the compost is finally ready, transfer it into a plant pot.
Ferv by Abidur Chowdhury is a thermally insulated kettle that aims at saving energy, time and water. It does so by boiling water and maintaining it at the same temperature for up to 4 hours. This ensures that we don’t have to constantly heat up more water again and again! It utilizes a graphical user interface to communicate details.
Paos’ line of waste-free cosmetic products is green, sustainable and totally pro zero waste! Their wooden toothbrush is an eco-friendly and minimal alternative to the conventional toothbrushes found in the market.
Zero Waste is a body scanning and 3D printing unit that recycles old clothes to the latest trends. The first round of raw material needs to be bought and there after all you need to do is scan your body, pick your style from the design feed and get a brand new 3D Printed outfit. Very trendy and up with the times, what do you think?
The Zero Waste is one of the 35 shortlisted entries for the 2014 Electrolux Design Lab competition.
Designer: Karolin Kõrge
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