Guilty Flavours

Harnessing microorganisms to re-engineering plastic waste for human consumption.

Hosted by Eleonora Ortolani

This project is now archived and was part of DDW23

Event type

Exhibition

Location

West

Next Nature Museum

Noord Brabantlaan 1A

5652LA

First Vanilla Ice Cream from Plastic Waste

Maël Hénaff

“Guilty Flavours” features the first scoop of vanilla ice cream ever made from plastic waste. By harnessing digestion enzymes, this process proposes a radical possibility to eliminate plastic waste forever, emphasizing that true progress lies in the outcomes and our mindset.

Our ever-increasing mountain of plastic waste is an insurmountable problem.

Plastic production is not decreasing and the current system of recycling is failing to keep up. Guilty Flavours is a radical proposal for how humans can harness our own bodies to eliminate plastic forever – by eating it. New biochemical processes involving digestion enzymes and engineered bacteria could allow humans to safely consume plastic. Starting with vanilla flavour, this project explores how we can harness this process to create fully edible molecules transformed by living organisms.

The ice cream is displayed in a locked freeze as it needs to be tested for food safety.

This highlights the time-consuming and ethically-controversial nature of evaluating the plastic-derived ingredient: in fact, despite its chemical similarity to vanillin, whether natural or synthetic, the testing process is still lengthy as considered a completely new ingredient and a new technology. This underscores the urgency for finding innovative solutions and rapid change in our society and politics of the food system to address pressing environmental issues.Therefore, the ice cream will be locked and frozen until we, as humans, will make a decision on what to do with it. This is real and ready now, but are we?

Ice Cream Exhibited in a Locked Fridge

Maël Hénaff

Hosted by

Eleonora Ortolani
[email protected]
+447340968127
Visit website

Download press kit

About Eleonora Ortolani

Eleonora is a multidisciplinary designer with a strong focus on material experimentation. Her work is a testament to the power of interdisciplinary thinking and the endless possibilities of design. One of her main areas of interest is the future of food, which she sees as a powerful reflection of society as a whole. Eleonora is fascinated by the intersection of food, science, and design, and she is constantly exploring new ways to bring these elements together in her work.