REUSE VALUABLE THINGS
The quick and careless handling of ceramics, driven by short-lived trends, leads to a lot of ceramics ending up in the waste.
There is currently no independent recycling solution for ceramics in Switzerland. After use, ceramic objects either end up in incineration plants or are recycled as construction waste. As a result, the valuable material is lost.
At the same time, we are excavating millions of tons of new raw materials to produce high-quality ceramic products again.
Porcelain was once referred to as “white gold” and was considered extremely valuable. Today, however, it has become so inexpensive that repair or recycling is neglected; Although mining the raw materials requires a lot of logistical effort and producing and firing them at high temperatures requires an enormous amount of energy.
With ceramic recycling, Golden Biscotti shows that ceramic shards are valuable and can be reused to make new products. In this way, high-quality material is not lost, there is no waste and fewer raw materials are needed.
Soap dishes made from recycled material
Ceramic shards finely ground
PROCESS
During various experiments with ceramic tableware, I found out that it is possible to reuse the fired shards as raw material for new products.
Once ceramic has been fired, it can no longer be melted. Therefore, you always have to rely on an additional material that reconnects the fired shards. I found that with the addition of 50% recycled ceramics it is possible to obtain an efficient material. It was important to me to develop a material that is suitable for serial slip casting and that is dense and stable as a fired product.
I make soap dishes and dishes from the new mass, which consists of 50% recycled ceramic tableware and 50% porcelain mass. Depending on the source material, the color of the fired ceramic changes.
If Golden Biscotti dishes break in your home, you can return them to me. This then creates something new.
Shards plate of Golden Biscotti
Ceramic shards ground
CERAMIC
Ceramic is a generic term for all products made from non-metallic, inorganic materials. It can be divided into porcelain, earthenware, stoneware and other materials. A key difference lies in the composition of the various materials. The main component of porcelain is kaolin. This is a fine, white rock. Quartz and feldspar are mixed with the kaolin to create the mass for porcelain. For stoneware, the starting material is clay.
Stoneware and porcelain are fired at approx. 1260°C. Stoneware at around 900°C. Low-fired goods must be glazed so that they are tight.