Within the Cityloops project, Wageningen University & Research has, together with the municipality of Apeldoorn, researched the possibilities of valorising Japanese knotweed in locally produced materials, for example through 3-D printing. By mechanically insulating the strong fibres of the Japanese knotweed and mixing them with biobased PLA plastic, it becomes suitable for injection molding applications and 3D printing. The material is industrially compostable.
What’s next
In addition to the technical optimisation of the material, finding an industrial party that can scale it up and bring it to the market is the biggest challenge. Originally, this material was made for (and partly by) the municipality of Apeldoorn. Similar materials based on Miscanthus and, for example, coffee grounds are produced and marketed by commercial parties.