Edinburgh College of Art student Peter Trimble has built a ready-made machine for making compostable furniture. Called Dupe, the machine converts sand, urine and bacteria into a new biomaterial similar to concrete. Trimble’s Dupe stools are surprisingly sturdy, and at the end of their lifetime they can be broken up and used as a fertilizer.
Trimble’s machine is a mini manufacturing plant built with a pump taken from an old coffee machine, an old blender’s mixer, a (stool) mould, and a tank. It works by pouring a urine and bacteria mix (bacillus pasteurii, commonly found in soil) into a sand mould. This produces a biological reaction that results in a solid piece of sandstone furniture. An exceptionally low cost production method, Dupe takes very little energy and emits no greenhouse gases.
Photos via Peter Trimble
