biomaterial research

these materials were the result of my dissertation for the Design for Change MA program at the University of Edinburgh in summer of 2024. the project proposed using these bio-based materials in place of petrochemical plastics because of their decomposition properties. the targeted crisis was e-waste, which is growing rapidly due in large to inaccessible housings and casings. my project asked what if these materials could be used to make housings that could be dissolved at a product’s end-of-life, allowing for access to the interior components for reuse and proper recycling. the Circular Economy was used as the foundation for the proposed design methodology which called for the use of these materials. more information of the methodology can be found at design4decomp.org.

the materials themselves were a mix of agar, gelatine, and starch based plastics that could be made in a kitchen. below are some of the material samples produced with the final proof-of-concept product process in the slideshow.

proof-of-concept

this exercise consisted of producing a desk lamp from gelatine plastic. this material can be boiled away leaving the wire, LEDs, and the dc barrel jack for collection, reducing the volume of plastic entering the waste stream.