Due to the enormous amount of residual flows from the greenhouses, it is possible to convert a large amount into usable building material such as sheet material. With the use of a natural coating, the material becomes water-repellent.
The residual flow that does not end up on your plate can be processed in your kitchen cupboard.
Is made from
- Fibers from North Limburg
- Shredded bell pepper plant
- Starch
Manufacturing process
- The pepper plant grows and is tied up with plastic wire.
- The plant is fully grown in November and is being cleared for a new season
- It is not profitable for the grower of the plant to remove the wire of each plant separately, so it ends up in the waste pile.
- All the material in the greenhouse is shredded and filtered to remove as much plastic as possible from the fiber, so that it can be made into sheet material.
- Then it’s brought to the production facility.
- Then follows the mixing, mixing, pressing and drying, in other words the sheet material production.
- After the material is created, it is processed by means of woodworking machines.
![](https://biobasedmaterials.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/PCTA0646-Rik-Makes-1024x768.jpeg)
Applied
This material is suitable for interior construction, such as wall finishing. The material can be supplied as a fire-resistant finish. The material is also suitable for furniture.
Environmental impact
- The plant provides fiber, which absorbs CO2 during growth.
- The binder comes from starch, which is refined from the fruit of a plant that grows in the Netherlands.
- When the product/material is no longer desired, it can be taken, shredded and reused to produce new material.
- This product gives a residual flow a destination again.
Good to know!
The material is light and natural, has its own aesthetic and tells something about local agriculture.
![](https://biobasedmaterials.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Hemp-Detail-Picture-by-Floor-Skrabanja-Rik-Makes-676x1024.jpeg)
Growth opportunities
The intention is that this board is fully compostable, just like ‘Combind Hemp’. For this, a solution will have to be found for the plastic residues that now ends up in the material despite the filtering.
At the moment a small scale-up has started. In which panels of 244 x 122 cm are produced.