Eggshell Ceramic

Long description

10 billion eggs a year are produced in the Netherlands, which makes the country the largest egg exporter in the world. An egg produces a valuable material which is often seen as waste; his shell. It contains for 95% out of calcium carbonate, a beneficial nutrient for human, animals and plants. Most of these billion eggshells go to landfill, a waste of resources. With my project I’m showing how we can improve the use of this waste-material and restore our biodiversity. I developed a biodegradable but versatile material out of discarded eggshells which can be recycled into calciumwater very easily, by anyone. This calciumwater is good food for the soil and beneficial for the growth of plants. Biodiversity in the Netherlands (and beyond) is declining, which is partly the cause of acidified soil due to wrong fertilizers and nitrogen emissions. When sulfur and nitrogen end up in the soil together, they take important nutrients with them to soil layers that are too deep. In doing so, they extract the nutrients for plants. This is not only the case on agricultural land, but also in forests and nature reserves. As a result, biodiversity declines. With this project I try to stop ignoring the positive aspects of our own negative consumerism by developing an awareness product with this material for the interior design field. Retail, hospitality and decor industries are subject to rapidly changing design trends and materials. Eggshell Ceramic could be a positive addition for these industries.

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