Bioplastics are types of moldable materials made from ingredients like corn starch, sugarcane, or algae. Where petroleum-based plastics can take hundreds of years to break down, potentially leaving behind microplastics and chemical additives like phthalates or bisphenols, compostable bioplastics are ideally designed to break down naturally into water, carbon dioxide, and organic matter within months, given the right conditions.
In the video above, crushed eggshells become the …
Bioplastics are types of moldable materials made from ingredients like corn starch, sugarcane, or algae. Where petroleum-based plastics can take hundreds of years to break down, potentially leaving behind microplastics and chemical additives like phthalates or bisphenols, compostable bioplastics are ideally designed to break down naturally into water, carbon dioxide, and organic matter within months, given the right conditions.
In the video above, crushed eggshells become the main ingredient in a homemade bioplastic eggshell bowl. Luis Giestas, a product design teacher in Portugal, shares homemade bioplastic experiments on his YouTube channel as a part of his interest in “anything that can be done by hand at home with simple tools.”
Giestas saves eggshells for a month, removing the shell membranes to prevent odor, washing them with soapy water, and sterilizing them in the oven at 170°C for ten minutes. Once dry, he crushes the eggshells into a powder.
Combining water, glycerin, agar, and a couple drops of (mold-preventing) clove oil in a pot—he includes a recipe in the video—he cooks the mixture, stirring it until it gets thick. Then he folds in the crushed eggshells.
The bowl’s shape is made by pressing the pasty mix between a large and small bowl. After ten minutes, the small bowl can be removed, but the formed mixture must cool and contract to come out of the large bowl. The final piece takes another week or so to dry. From the caption:
“Q: How can I speed up the drying process? A: A dehydrator would be ideal, an oven might work as a dehydrator if it has a low temperature setting and good air flow. You can also just leave it to dry in a warm place. Beware that the more you try to speed up the drying process with direct heat, the higher the risk that the bowl will warp.”
In another experiment video, Giestas eats eggs off of a biodegradable eggshell bioplastic plate before recycling the plate and transforming it into a new useful form:
Watch these bioplastic and zero waste videosnext: • How to make bioplastic • Sixteen year old Elif Bilgin turned banana peels into a bioplastic • MarinaTex, a bioplastic made from fish waste • How to turn milk into plastic • An innovative edible spoon, a smart alternative to plastic waste • Mycelium packaging, a biodegradable alternative to styrofoam