发酵菌制成的环保食品包装
Emma Sicher makes eco-friendly food packaging from fermented bacteria and yeast

由专筑网王帅，李韧编译

意大利设计师Emma Sicher将食物废料与发酵菌结合起来，设计出了一次性包装。这将成为未来可持续的塑料替代品。

该项目名为“从果皮到包装（From Peel to Peel）”，Sicher通过发酵微生物纤维素制成了环保食品包装和容器。该方法是将细菌、酵母菌与水果和蔬菜的边角料一起培养，其别名为“scoby”。

Italian designer Emma Sicher has combined food waste with bacteria and yeasts to create disposable packaging, in a bid to provide a sustainable alternative to plastic.
The project, called From Peel to Peel, sees Sicher make eco-friendly food packaging and containers by fermenting microbial cellulose, a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeasts – also known as scoby – with fruit and vegetable leftovers.


“从果皮到包装”的产品由发酵菌与水果和蔬菜残渣混合而成／From Peel to Peel is made from a culture of bacteria combined with fruit and vegetable leftovers

“scoby”之中的微生物与食物废料中含有的天然果糖和维生素，它们会发生化学反应，从而增殖并形成一层纤维素。纤维素是植物细胞壁中的关键结构成分，能够帮助细胞保持其结构形态。

设计师将水果和蔬菜废料浸泡在水里，然后加入“scoby”、醋酸化合物和一些糖。微生物将残渣中的果糖和维生素转化为纯纤维素，再形成类似明胶的物质。

然后，根据所需的厚度，将混合物发酵两到四个星期，然后再进行加热和烘干。一旦干燥，它就变成半透明的材料，具备了与纸、塑料和皮革相似的特性。

The microorganisms in the scoby substance reacts with the fructose and vitamins still naturally contained in food waste to proliferate and create layers of cellulose – a key structural component in the walls of plant cells that helps them remain stiff.
To create the material fruit and vegetable scraps are soaked in water with scoby, acetic compound and some sugar. The microorganisms turn the fructose and vitamins in the scraps into pure cellulose, until it forms a gelatin-like material.
This mixture is then left to rest for two to four weeks, depending on the desired thickness, before being heated and dried. Once dried, it becomes a translucent sheet of material, sharing similar characteristics to paper, plastic and leather.


不同的水果可以制作不同颜色的包装／Using different fruits creates sustainable packaging in a variety of colours

将这种材料在不同的表面上进行干燥，从而获得不同的纹理和图案。干燥表面越平滑，纤维素包装就越光亮。例如，在有机玻璃板上进行干燥的溶液可以制出类似于塑料的材质。

Sicher试验了苹果、土豆、甜菜根、葡萄渣和啤酒花等不同的水果和蔬菜，从而制造出颜色和材质不同的材料。

The material can be dried on different surfaces to achieve various textures and patterns – the smoother the drying support the shinier the cellulose will be, for instance a layer dried on a plexiglass board will resemble plastic.
Sicher also experimented with different fruits and vegetables like apples, potatoes, beetroot, grape pomace and beer hops to create different colours and textures of the material.


包装是食品的天然果皮／The packaging is designed to be a natural peel for food items

设计师希望她的有机包装可以替代广泛使用的塑料和纸包装，而塑料正是造成地球和海洋污染的罪魁祸首。

根据欧盟统计局颁布的数据，从2006年到2015年，纸和纸板是欧盟的主要包装废料，在2015年就消耗了3 480万吨。紧随其后的是塑料和玻璃，分别为1 590万公吨及1 580万吨。其中很大一部分废料都来源于食品包装。

Sicher希望人们开始把食品包装当作物品的天然果皮。该灵感来源于意大利设计师Bruno Munari，这位设计师曾说过“大自然生产了世界上的第一个包装，每一种果皮、壳或皮肤都是为了保护其内在的东西。”

设计师说：“大多数食物都被包装在永久性材料中，与这些包装相比，大多数食物的保质期就显得捉襟见肘了。”

她说：“可以开发一种符合自然原理的原材料来用作食物的包装。该项目旨在通过提供一种可持续产品，从而替代食品工业目前的产品，让人类再次接近自然。”

The designer hopes her organic wrapping could act as a replacement for the widely used plastic and paper packaging, which is one of the main causes of earth and marine pollution.
According to European commission Eurostat, from 2006 to 2015, paper and cardboard were the main packaging waste material in the EU (34.8 million tonnes in 2015), followed by plastic and glass (15.9 and 15.8 million tonnes) – with a significant percentage of this in the form of food packaging.
Sicher wants people to start treating food packaging as a natural peel for the items contained inside, taking direct inspiration from Italian designer Bruno Munari who said, "nature is the first producer of packaging in the world: every peel, shell or skin aims to protect its content."
"Most food gets packaged in materials that are engineered to last forever, and most of the food has a short life cycle in comparison to its containers," said the designer.
"By developing a packaging that follows the natural principle of acting as a peel for its content, the aim is to get closer to nature again by providing a more sustainable alternative to what is currently offered by the food industry," she added.


通过原材料发酵的时间来控制材料的厚度／Different thicknesses of the material can me made depending on the length of time the ingredients are left for

微生物纤维素包装除了需要更少的能源和资源外，还可以用有机废物合成，最终，这种材料还能成为土壤肥料。

纤维素具有很强的吸水性，同时也比普通纸更耐水，它适用于面粉、糖、面食、大米、茶叶、干果等多种干食品的包装。

In addition to requiring less energy and resources to make it, the microbial cellulose packaging can be composted with organic waste, eventually turning into fertiliser for the soil.
The cellulose is very absorbent but at the same time more water-resistant than ordinary paper, making it suitable for containing many types of dry food such as flour, sugar, pasta, rice, tea leaves, dried fruits and so on.


不同的表面上进行干燥时可以产生不同纹理／A variety of textures can be created by drying the material on different surfaces

这种材料也可用作短期使用的食物包装，例如调味汁、炸薯条、三明治或一般的街头快餐。

由于该包装具备很高的亲水性，同时没有任何涂层，所以不适合含有水或油基物质，因此可以使用蜂蜡或天然不透水处理。

这位设计师希望看到在世界上掀起一股这样的浪潮，每一个地区都可以生产微生物纤维素包装，通过循环的当地有机废物进行包装，从而创造出更有效的循环经济。

同样的项目，毕业生 Roza Janusz使用“scoby”设计了一种替代塑料食品包装的方法，这种包装可以食用，从而避免了乱扔垃圾的现象。

The material could also be used as short-usage food containers such as holders for sauces, french fries, sandwiches or street food in general – as long as the consumption is quite fast.
Due to its high hydrophilicity, the packaging, left natural without any coating, is not suitable to contain water or oil-based substances, and would need to be treated with beeswax or natural impervious finishes to do so.
The designer hopes to see a global scenario where every region produces microbial cellulose sheets for packaging by up-cycling local organic waste, creating a more effective circular economy dynamic.
In a similar project, graduate Roza Janusz also used scoby to create an alternative to plastic food packaging that can either be eaten after use, or composted, in a bid to "enrich" rather than litter the environment."