Is There Nothing We Can't Recycle?
- by Jane
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- 21 Oct, 2019
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Now fish scales & bones are being made into plastics... what will be next?
Did you know that the UK’s fish processing industry creates an estimated 492,000 tons of waste a year, which until now was just being thrown into landfill or incinerated? But now, thanks to a recent discovery made by a design graduate from the University of Sussex – that waste is now being put to better use!
Lucy Hughes is only 23 but she has recently won the prestigious James Dyson Award for designing a biodegradable and compostable material called MarinaTex that is made out of fish waste and yet looks and feels like plastic and is even stronger and safer and more sustainable than the alternative.
This eco-friendly bio plastic uses the fish skin and scales to create a new type of material that can be used in everyday items and she is hoping that a single Atlantic Cod could generate the organic waste needed for 1,400 bags of MarinaTex!
As Lucy said about her amazing discovery: “For me, MarinaTex represents a commitment to material innovation and selection by incorporating sustainable, local and circular values into design. As creators, we should not limit ourselves to designing to just form and function, but rather form, function and footprint.”
Finding eco-friendly alternatives is at the very heart of Meco Merchandise’s mission to reduce plastic pollution.
To find some of our reusable ocean-friendly products, check out our website and our tokens made from old fishing nets – not quite as organic as fish scales, but we’re getting there!
