From Waste to Material - Used Coffee Grounds BioPlastic!

For a long time, we have been excessively consuming plastics in a way that has now caused significant pollution. Researchers & designers have been trying to create and test recipes for biomaterials that would eventually allow us to replace plastics with more eco-friendly materials.

In my recipe, I used fine, used coffee grounds (Turkish or espresso), and the resulting material has a rubbery texture, and it can be described as a soft solid that is somewhat flexible. This material, like wood and other natural materials, can vary in properties depending on many factors. The water's TDS, type of grounds, thickness...etc.

Follow the steps and use the attached video to guide you through them!

Tools:

• Cooker/Stove/Hotplate
• Scale
• Mold (silicone is ideal, other types could work too)
• Whisk
• Pan or Pot

Ingredients:

• Glycerin 2.5 (g) - AKA Glycerol
• Agar Agar 1.5 (g)
• Water 40 (mL)
• Coffee Waste 7 (g) - Dry

Measure out all the ingredients using a scale and a measuring jug for the water. Starting with the liquids, the water and glycerin, add them into the cooking pan or pot. You can then mix in the rest of the ingredients; the Agar Agar powder (this is a seaweed extract) and the used coffee grounds, and add them to the pot and turn the cooker on to a medium heat.

With a whisk, keep mixing the materials until it boils and thickens. The time it takes depends on the kind of cooker you have and the cooking pan you are using. Try to make notes as you go about the time and what is happening in the cooking pan.

With a whisk, keep mixing the materials until it boils and thickens. The time it takes depends on the kind of cooker you have and the cooking pan you are using. Try to make notes as you go about the time and what is happening in the cooking pan.

When you have a thick mixture, immediately pour the mix into the mold. Silicone molds seems to work the best. For the cup piece I used two cups where one is slightly larger. I poured the mixture in the larger cup and then pushed the smaller one in.

I personally created my mold by using Fusion 360 to CAD them, then I lasercut the mold and make it using silicone. Being able to create my own molds (as seen in the video) was empowering for me as an artist so I dont have to rely on ready made ones that do notnecessarily meet my artistic vision. You can download one of my molds from the attachements here!

After 15 minutes, remove the bioplastic from the mold gently. The plastics will shrink and if it was forced in a mold as it dries it would break so make sure to remove from the mold.

Place the piece to air dry, this can take up to 48 hours to fully dry. You can also try to try it in different temperatures e.g.: in an oven, dehydrator or maybe outside. Once your material is fully dry, it is ready!

While the resulting material is usually warped, it can be flatten by placing it in a hot press for 15 seconds on 305F. The material can then be laser cut easily for crisp looking cuts!