In London, a designer has produced bioplastic face shields using food waste and flowers from the city’s parks.
Dubbed Dance Biodegradable Personal Protective Equipment (DBPPE) Post Covid Facemasks, inventor Alice Potts tells dezeen the 20 prototype face masks are biodegradable and vary in color, depending on what flowers are used in its production.
“The food waste is the base, and type of color depends on the type of waste thrown out,” Potts told adds. “This is normally collected by me from local food markets, butchers and households. Most vegetables can be made into the dyes with fruits acting as a natural sugar for flexibility in the bioplastic, whereas proteins can be used to give strength to the plastic itself. Every color is completely seasonal depending on what flowers are blooming, what vegetables and fruits are growing and earth that is in and around London.”
Potts, who developed the facemask after her paramedic brother faced PPE shortages early in the pandemic, says she will make the design and bioplastic formulation open source.
“Plastic is an amazing material and has allowed us to travel to outer space, deep-sea dive and make the ventilators, which we now need more than ever to save lives,” said Potts. “However, for everyday consumers, I don’t think it’s essential to have such a material like plastic for everyday use. We are not exposed to the same level of Covid as those in the hospitals or on the frontline, so we do not need the same material. Bioplastic will still offer some levels of protection but will be biodegradable.”