Furniture made from recycled polycarbonate waste

Dutch company Plasticiet produced recycled plastic sheet material with a marbled, or pearlescent look, which they used to make a series of furniture.

Plasticiet (which you can find in our collection here) uses a variety of recycled plastics to make their sheet material. Each type of plastic has its own viscosity, and they often work with contaminated sources. This means that the material needs to be tested thoroughly before it can be resold as sheet material. This process allows for experimentation with the material.

Plasticiet takes inspiration from rock formations. The sheet material used for the furniture, called Mother of Pearl, has a marbled or pearlescent. To make this material, polycarbonate, a highly technical plastic used in construction, electronics and even bullet-proof glass, is melted and kneaded and mixed while warm. During the process the material is stretched and folded numerous times, aerating it. The tiny stretched air bubbles capture within the translucent plastic reflect light resulting in an iridescent glow resembling mother of pearl. Each part is moulded individually.

The collection currently consists of “three basic yet essential pieces of furniture”, a cabinet, a stool, and a chair. “Given that Plasticiet’s key inspiration always comes from natural stone and rock formations it was only logical to find inspiration in the Neolithicum – the last part of the Stone Age – where our predecessors used more primitive means to come about,” Plasticiet explains.

To source their plastic material, Plasticiet partnered up with Dutch companies like LC Plastics, Suez, and PRC, collecting what their shredding facilities have in stock, or contaminated plastics that can normally no longer be used.

Photos: Plasticiet