Recycled Plastic Crafted to Shine Again

Plasticiet is a constructive and decorative sheet material and is mainly used in interior architecture and furniture design. The startup was founded in 2018 by Marten van Middelkoop and Joost Dingemans, two Rotterdam based designers, with a passion for sustainable material development, both Product Design graduates of the Willem de Kooning Academy. The materials are produced in their workshop in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Old plastics are sourced throughout the Netherlands, working together with several companies that have big shredding installations. From garden furniture to production waste they closely collaborate to find unused plastics to repurpose them. Marten and Jost started out with a small toaster iron and then kept on learning and redesiging their production process bit by bit in a very hands-one way. They are currently able to produce panels at 800x800mm and are working towards up-scaling our production line for bigger sheet sizes.
The experimentation went further and new effects were created with the Mother of Pearl project, a recycled material which looks mid way between marble and mother-of-pearl, and which was used to create a series of stools. To create this pearlescent design, the material was first melt and then kneaded and mixed when it is still warm. The technique is very similar to taffy making for sugary candy canes. During this process the material is stretched and folded numerous times, aerating it. The tiny stretched air bubbles captured within the translucent plastic reflect light resulting in an iridescent glow resembling mother of pearl.