Banana Stem Fiber
Package 1. Submission Information 1.1. Contact Information: First Name, Last Name: Brayan Stiven Pabรณn Gรณmez / Rafael Ricardo Moreno Boada Email address: bepabong@unal.edu.co / rrmorenob@unal.edu.co Phone Number: +57 313 389 5363 / +57 321 408 0048 Mailing Address City, State, Zip, Country: Transversal 78N # 51A 20 S. Bogotรก D.C., 10861, Colombia.
1.2. Submitting Category Professional Project.
A plastic problem The problem of plastic pollution is growing exponentially every year; we are producing more than 400 million tons of plastic, half of this is designed for single use, and each year around 8 million tons of it ends up in our oceans. Today, packaging applications are, by their very design, destined for landfill, incineration, and are often likely to leak into the environment after a short single use. This segment includes small-format packaging; multi-material packaging; uncommon plastic packaging materials (PS and EPS); and highly nutrient-contaminated packaging, such as fast-food packaging.
Around 8 million tons of plastic are dumped in our oceans every year
More than 200 million tons of plastic packaging are designed for single use
Their lack of a viable after-use pathway and often small size make these items particularly prone to escaping collection systems and ending up in the natural environment, especially in emerging economies where most of the leakage occurs. Even when collected, their afteruse material value is hard or impossible to capture at scale. Fundamental redesign and innovation are required.
A person uses a plastic carrier bag on average for only 12 minutes
https://greenpeace.org https://plasticoceans.org MacArthur, D. E., Waughray, D., & Stuchtey, M. R. (2016). The New Plastics Economy, Rethinking the Future of Plastics. In World Economic Forum.
Plastic packaging escape collection systems and end up in the natural environment due to the dynamics of use and small size format
Colombia's new challenges Peace building and post-conflict The long history of violence in Colombia related to the armed conflict (more intense in some areas of the country) has resulted in economic and social imbalances. This is expressed in large development gaps with respect to other less affected regions, environmental degradation, rural poverty and denial of the fundamental rights of the people. As an action plan, the Colombian government has presented different strategies to contribute to development of regions most affected by the armed conflict. One of these strategies is the CONPES 3850, a document that presents as a strategic axis the Innovation for rural development and that is aligned with the sustainable development objectives proposed by the United Nations Development Program.
There is a need for projects and strategies framed in sustainable economic development that contribute to a greater coverage of the fundamental rights of people and the progress of the regions.
Colombia today Nowadays Colombia is passing through a process of post-war after signing the peace agreements between guerrilla groups and the gobernment (2017). As part of the process we need to relocate the ex-guerrilas, reinserting them to our society and repairing the victims of violence.
Banana stem fiber After the war, the areas most afected by violence are looking for development opportunities and as an agricultural country , opportunities can be found on the main crops, and the innovation.
This map relates the banana production areas to the rate of violence.
Banana crops are located into the areas most affected by violence
Banana stem fiber or calceta de plรกtano Each one of the peels that form the stem or seedling of the banana plant. Banana stem fiber is known as calceta or guasca de plรกtano. The banana stem fiber can be found in all the Colombian climates and in the majority of the national territory
CU
VALLE DEL CAUCA
The banana is the fourth most important crop in the world. Together with the Philippines and Ecuador, Colombia is the third banana producer worldwide.
TOLIMA
<< 50% of the plant is usable stem fiber >>
Main banana producing areas Secondary banana producing areas
More violent areas Medium violent areas Less violent areas
This fiber is extracted through a plant maintenance process called desguasque or descalcetamiento. This process is crucial for the health of the plant, due the pest that the fiber can harbor, so this is a mandatory process at any plantation.
The problems is that the colombian farmers at the moment of doing this maintenance process (descalcetamiento) do not know a use for the banana stem fiber, so they choose to incinerate the material
Farmers burn the banana stem fiber because they do not know any use for it
Multiple Visual Textures
Material study
Calceta de plátano the fiber is laminar and of brown tones. The fiber sheet has two (2) faces diferentiated by their texture and their hue. It also has an inner structure based on crosslinks. Both faces can be separated from each other, and each one will have the reticulated structure on its back.
The project identified 16 of the 25 potential design attributes that the banana stem fiber have for product development. As a result, we found great attributes in the material and we decide to applicate this new knowledge developing a food packaging product.
Inner face
The outer face is the clearest and smoothest one
Foldable
Sheetable
Physical Union
Thermoformable
Aesthethical Attributes Technical Attributes
Inner crosslinks The back of the other two faces. It is similar to cardboard
Stampable
As a result of a material research based on the attributes, 4 categories and 25 attributes were identified for the banana stem fiber.
Outer face
The outer face is the darkest and more rugged one
Multiple Tonalities
Multiple Tactile Textures
Food Packaging
Functional Attributes
Enviromental Attributes
Uses of the fiber
Currently, the fiber is mainly used in crafts and as reinforcement of composite materials
The Calceta doesn´t have industrial applications in Colombia since there is not enough concrete knowledge that informs us about the properties of the material and the possible applications it could have.
Lightweight
Absorbent
Impermeable
Laminar
Adhesive Clean
Usable Residue
Thermal isulator
Biodegradable
Project approach In a scenario of peace itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s necessary to promote sustained economic growth, inclusive and sustainable, productive employment and fair work for all people.
Project The current plastics economy needs to be reinvented throw design and innovation for the planet sustainability.
Banana stem fiber is an abundant material with great attributes for product development that today is being wasted.
insight 1
Current scenario analysis
could be the same package for food eating package for eating
E- insight 1
KITCHENER package to go
Menu CUSTOMER
WAITER
Food preparation
Order food
CASHIER
sauce bottle container
sauce is distributed in smaller portions insight 2
the content is best used by introducing the food into the sauce
food delivery
on the go consume in other place
Consume
on the place
sauce
portion sauce container
difficulty to pour all the content
CUSTOMER
Serve the food
Tableware
spice rack
sachet
!
non disposable
disposable
liquids accumulation
liquids spilling into the package/non disposable tableware
insight 3 insight 4
Design Entries
straw
use of utensiles
toothpick non disposable
cutlery disposable
Reduce the number of packages used on the activity. It means, 1 package able for food transporting and consume it.
E- insight 2 Same time, the proposed package could include a sauce container to reduce the plastic use and complete the eating experience.
E- insight 3 Is not about including a sachet or a portion container into the product. The proposed package could have a sauce containing system for dipping food.
E- insight 4 Proposed package have to protect the user from posible spillings during the activity.
Design process
Low fidelity prototyping
Prototyping
2. Product Description and Image 2.1. Product title and description.
Final product The Banana Stem Fiber Package is created to replace the plastic and paper packages, offer a natural experience to the user, use a waste material and turn it into a more valuable product, create awareness in the user, customer and farmer, and generate sustainable development alternatives in local communities. The banana stem fiber package works to contain small or large-thin pieces of food, like, churros, popcorn, yucca chips, potato chips, banana chips, small sausages or pork rinds; it allows the consumption of food with sauces or dressings.
Drop-down Container (Dressings)
Main Container (Food)
2.2. Image.
2.3. Illustration of the product's system. 2.1 Raw material cleaning with water. 2.2 Steam sterilization and drying process. 2.3 Banana stem ďŹ ber sheet production.
1.1 Banana crops (medium farmers). 1.2 Banana harvest. 1.3 Recollection of banana stem ďŹ ber from wasted plants (packaging company pays for it to the farmers). 1.4 Selection of the raw material.
1. Obtaining material.
1.2
5.1 Stored until use. 5.2 Used as double container: food container and dressing container. 5.3 Discarded product.
5. Product use.
4.1 Packages are stacked and transported to local food services by truck.
2. Material processing. 1.3
4. Product distribution.
1.4
1.1 4.1
5.1 2.1 6.3 5.2 2.2
3.3
5.3 6.2
2.3 3.2 6.1
3.1
6. Product recollection.
3. Product manufacturing.
6.1 Discarded packages are collected and composted by the packaging company that gives the compost to the farmers with a lower cost.
3.1 Sheets are cut in pieces. 3.2 Labels are printed with non-toxic ink. 3.3 Pieces are folded and pasted with biodegradablenatural glue.
3. Reutilization Cycle and Business Model The reutilization cycle is simple, after been used as a package/container the product completely returns to the biosphere through a composting process led by the company itself. The business model of the package is evidenced looking the added value that is created regard planet, people and proďŹ t.
Profit:
Performance, durability, and sustainability attributes.
The first source of income is created by selling the package/container to local restaurants. The added value that is associated with the package allows a selling price that is higher than for traditional plastic or cardboard package, but this gives the customers a green image of the local restaurants. The second source of income is generated by selling the collected packages as compost to the farmers.
This combination of materials allows the resistance to moderate-high temperatures (hot food), the isolation of heat and liquids from the food, the package last the necessary, makes the entire product biodegradable. Waste=Food: Using the banana plantation waste as a raw material is apply the cradle to cradle principle completely.
People: The benefits for the final customer are that he is using a C2C product, this shows to the society a green image as customer. Also the product creates a different experience of use, an ideal performance in terms of use and comfort. The benefits for farmers is that not only they could maintain their crops clean of waste, but also they receive the compost result from the final packages process. The idea is create a local business that help the community around the farms to get a good job and preserve the environment (material recollection, packages processing, packages distribution, discarded packages recollection, compost processing). Planet: The planet also benefits considerably if the banana stem fiber package is introduced on the market. It uses waste from a natural process and extended his useful life until it backs as a nutrient that enrich the ecosystem instead of polluting.
4.2. Material Reutilization. Recycled/Rapidly Renewable = 100% x 1 + Compostable/Biodegradable = 100% x 2 = 300%, ÷3 = 100% The 100% score is achieved because all the material are easily composted and even could been used as nutrients in the same banana plantations they come from.
4.3. Material Health. Banana stem fiber: The banana stem fiber is a natural material, but for its conditioning as a raw material, a disinfection/sterilization with water vapor/steam is produced and is therefore a healthy material.
Biodegradable-natural glue: Glue production is a clean process that does not involve any toxic chemicals, is therefore a healthy material.
4. Material Selection 4.1. Overview. The package/container is made from three categories of homogeneous materials. The first homogeneous material is the banana stem fiber. This fiber is recollected after the banana harvest and transformed as raw material for the packaging company. The second material is the biodegradable-natural glue created of potatoes used to join the different pieces of the product. The last category of homogeneous materials is the bio-degradable ink that is used to print labels on the outside of the package/container.
Bio-degradable inks: The package label is printed with a Cradle to Cradle certified printing ink that can safely degrade in the soil (produced by the Austrian company Gügler). This means they have a great material health.
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