Icelandic designer turns animal skin into bioplastic meat packaging

In Iceland, a designer is turning waste animal bones and skin into vessels and meat packaging, respectively. Valdís Steinarsdóttir says the “The Just Bones” project is turning animal skin into bioplastic to be used to package that same meat for sale. She is also grinding animal bones down to powder and mixing it with a natural glue made from sour fruit extract to create vases and bowls. “Because I make the material on a small scale, I prepare the bones myself,” she said. “I find it an important part of the project because I want to stay close to the process.” 

She hopes the project will find new uses for slaughterhouse waste. “I found meat processing to be both an extremely hard and morally challenging topic to explore,” Steinarsdóttir told Dezeen. “In fact, that was exactly what inspired me to go further, because I think as designers we need to be unflinching and ready to tackle uncomfortable issues. To make new discoveries, it is often good to look backwards and rethink accepted norms and established ways of doing things.” 

Both products are biodegradable in hot water. 

Steinarsdóttir adds that she would like for to make the skin bioplastic so that it has a similar expiration date to the meat it contains. “So instead of a best before date, you could see if the packaging itself is turning bad to determine if the product inside is expiring.”