www.fastcompany.com: Did you know that about two-thirds of the fish that is caught is discarded as waste? Sometimes, fish waste like bones, heads, fins, and scales are used as fertilizers and fish oil, but much of it ends up in landfills. That is unless a materials researcher finds a way to reuse some of it and create an entirely new material—which is exactly what Erik de Laurens did when he created Scalite.
7 comments:
I love this new tool! I think in our current social and geographic climate it is essential for us to find new ways to be innovative and environmentally friendly/ conscious, and that requires being creative like De Laurens. The features of scalite to be nonflammable and biodegradable make it perfect for theater decoration and art installations. It almost looks like a marbled or concrete texture, which is a great replacement for layering different types of paints and resins to achieve the same aesthetic look that will be wasteful and pollute. Possibly making it significantly cheaper, more time efficient, and generally easier to achieve along with its environmental benefits. If I were to use these, I would like to know about the price to longevity ratio, cutting ability, and the ability to take finish coats or paint for scenic artistry and construction. The lack of water-resistance and smell is a huge downside unfortunately.
This article made me very excited for the future of sustainable materials. As climate change continues to worsen, I am seeing more people stand up and actively work to provide more eco friendly alternatives to products and practices that negatively impact or effect are planet, including Scalite. With a combination of being toxin free, recyclable, ecofriendly, and less expensive than marbles and other stones, Scalite provides a great alternative to the use of stone. While this article is not specifically targeting theatrical use, I do realistically think there is a possibility of Scalite being integrated into materials used by scenic designers and carpenters. I think what is most important to understand right now is the durability, weight, and life span of the material. Even if Scalite cannot prove to be useful, the invention of Scalite provides there are not only materials out there that have yet to be introduced that can be both ecofriendly and relevant, but also people out there willing to find and create it.
Did someone say Green Theater Project? This product actually seems pretty cool. The article boasts that, "Scalite is a bio-sourced, biodegradable, and naturally nonflammable material that turns a byproduct of the fishing industry into a striking stone-like material that can make buildings a little greener, one tile at a time." I think taking a byproduct of another industry truly is the best way to create a greener project. Not only does this create a product that it in it of itself is a greener product with the fact that it is biodegradable, but it also reuses products that would normally be thrown away. These two things together truly make it a green product. The company claims that it is strong enough to be used for building construction, however, I would be interested to see if it could be used as a complete replacement for brick or cinderblock both in terms of price and functionality. If this were the case, it seems like a no brainer to start using.
As someone who is vegetarian, I am always looking for ways to live a more sustainable life. The repurposing of a byproduct that is just thrown away is something that thoroughly interests me. Unfortunately, I think in my lifetime there will always be a fishing industry, therefore, I think this company is a great way to make a meaningful impact in all the waste that is left over. Reading this article, I wonder how this mindset can transfer over to the theatre industry. Are there alternate materials we should be using to make our builds more sustainable? Or are there processes we can use after a production to repurpose and conserve materials that cannot be exchanged for something that is already repurposed? If this idea was put on a larger scale (get it?), I think it could make an immense impact in the waste we produce through the livestock industry, which again is unfortunately not going away any time soon.
Using fish scales as a base material for tiles is a very unique and unexpected idea. I would have had absolutely no idea that such a process could exist. That being said, I really appreciate the concept, as it makes use of waste that normally is sent to the landfill. After reading the article, the idea behind the tiles makes much more sense. The composition of the scales is completely inert – nothing that would rot – which is the initial reason why I was confused. The scales are made up of collagen and minerals, so hell, why not make tiles with them? The fact that they are also 100% recyclable and biodegradable is a huge plus. So much waste from the demolition and construction industries is also just sent straight to landfill, but in the current day and age this is just not a viable option anymore. We are already overdrawing raw materials from Earth, and we desperately need to find greener and less wasteful methods of anything and everything – including something as simple as tile composition. I hope in the coming years that more material developments like this are made, because we desperately need it.
-De Laurens is an innovative and creative artist that finds a use to the materials that were seen as waste or simply unusable. The truth is, a material such as De Laurens’ Scalite, with its body being 99.5% fish scale, can form a solid biodegradable material that may be used in various industries. I find Scalite to be a very interesting material to use in costume design, because of its reversible trait, meaning that it can infinitely be remodeled. Most importantly, Scalite is an environment friendly material as well, it is 100% recyclable and is fully biodegradable. I think De Laurens’ project should stick to including all fish waste rather than orienting towards “more exotic scales” because sustainability should be the essential for this project. In my opinion Scalite not being water resistant reorients the material’s purpose in costume design, until its further development I would stick to using it on smaller surfaces and emphasize its natural and unique design. Even though Scalite is not be the most cost-effective option and with its odor being a downside, I still really like the idea of using Scalite in costume design as a marble substitute, for example in gown details.
It’s so exciting to hear that scientists are coming up with greener materials! Creating a new material out of a byproduct is a great way to reduce waste and I know this has been a topic of interest for scientists for a period of time. The technology behind must be very difficult, as you’d have to thoroughly research the properties of each element and figure how they interact with each other and external factors. From my paint class, I learned that nowadays, a lot of the products are being replaced with greener, healthier ones. This leads me to wondering whether materials like Scalite will one day be used in the theatres based on its physical properties and more environment friendly characteristics. But I can see that there are still many obstacles to overcome before Scalite is fully manipulated and stable for long term use. Also, I was just wondering, perhaps one day, the fish scales might become the popular material, and no longer just the byproduct of fishing. Then in this case, the meat might become the byproduct of Scalite. So I really wonder if there’s a way to balance out, and minimise the waste of byproducts.
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