This project aims at giving credibility to local scenarios of circular economy based on the upcycling of bio resources. While a previous phase investigated the challenges of collecting bio waste from restaurants, transforming it into usable bio-based materials and proposing those materials to the public, the DDMP Summer School allowed me to dive into the technical dimension of building the required tooling: a bio-press. 

Locally produced from restaurants and cafes’ byproducts (coffee ground, stale bread, shells, peels…), bio-based materials represent an attractive and biodegradable alternative to single use plastic packaging. The press – through heat and pressure – creates the necessary conditions to condense and polymerize the mix, in which starch can be added for stronger bonding.

Stemming from the current surge in interest towards bio-based materials and the Circular Economy, Local Discontinuity – as its name suggests – advocates for the creation of disruptive, local and circular initiatives. Extracting knowledge from existing distributed resources (Beyond Plastic, Materiom, etc…), the project strives to bring together the behavioral – are people willing to change? – and structural – do people have the option to change? – components of a transition to more circular and responsible societies.