Despite our love for sustainable design and product innovation, there is one building material we haven’t previously covered – the humble potato. But the creations by Chip[s]Board cannot go unnoticed.
Founders Rowan Minkley and Rob Nicoll teamed up with family-owned potato company McCain to turn potato skins into a range of durable, non-toxic, and biodegradable materials. The starting point for the innovative company was to create a production system that functioned as a circular economy in which any products produced can ultimately be utilised in the creation of further products. This reduces the amount of resources needed in manufacturing, as well as limits waste.
The process is similar to that of making MDF. It involves the compression of a mixture of a potato skin binding agent and fibres from a range of organic materials such as bamboo and beer hops. The heat pressing creates a strong surface which can be utilised in the production of various items, such as eyewear and buttons.
The company has also been working on additional materials such as their Parblex™ Plastics [PBX] which are “translucent pure or fibre reinforced bioplastics” that have been produced to be “compatible with injection moulding, 3D printing, milling and other industrial processing techniques.”
