Bioplastic made from beetle shells
Dutch designer Aagje Hoekstra has unveiled a new bioplastic composed of the shells of darkling beetles. The new material, called Coleoptera, is made from chemically-modified chitin, and is both heat-resistant up 200°C and waterproof. It is also environmentally beneficial from a reuse perspective. However, it also clearly retains the imprint of its original form, and appears to be an assemblage of heat-fused, compressed insect hulls. Although Hoekstra declares that this form-retention is intentional, the bumpy, uneven surface that results may limit the functional applications and shape-making potential of an otherwise intriguing new substance.
Contact: Aagje Hoekstra, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
