UPCYCLING: Potato peels offer a sustainable alternative to traditional building materials.

12. November 2019 | Waste, Material | via Dezeen.com

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The material is made from a potato peel binding agent mixed with fibres from potatoes, bamboo, wood or hops. (Credit: Dezeen.com)

London-based designers Rowan Minkley and Robert Nicoll use waste potato peelings to create an eco-friendly alternative to single-use materials like MDF and chipboard, called Chip[s] Board, according to an article on Dezeen.com.

Shocked by the environmental impact and short lifespan of many readily disposable materials, Minkley and Nicoll set out to develop a material that, if thrown out in the same way, wouldn't have the same negative environmental impact.

The name Chip[s] Board is a play on the fried potato treat and the material chip board. The new material is biodegradable post-use and, unlike MDF, doesn't contain formaldehyde or other toxic resins and chemicals.

While MDF is a useful material, it is also damaging to the environment, with the UK furniture sector currently disposing of or incinerating 140,000 tonnes of MDF per year, due to its inability to be recycled.

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