There is Ice Cream Made from Plastic Waste, Dare to Try?

Dream - Milk, cream, chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry, are common ingredients used to make ice cream. Have you ever imagined, Dream friends, that there could be ice cream made from plastic waste?

A designer from England claims to be the first person to make vanilla ice cream sourced from recycled plastic. The ice cream was created by Eleonora Ortolani, who completed her education at Central Saint Martins Design School.

The project titled Guilty Flavours is inspired by the designer's frustration with the way plastic is recycled, which is turned into products that cannot be further recycled because they are mixed with resin or other materials. This makes the next product unable to be processed again and only worsens the problem.

Ia then heard about a species of worms that can digest plastic bags. Eleonora then wondered if there is a way for humans to eat plastic, break it down, and make it disappear forever.

"\u201cI never imagined being able to make food from plastic. And it's difficult for me to find scientists who are truly interested in collaborating with me on that," said Eleonora."

Eleonora then met with a food scientist from London Metropolitan University and researcher Joanna Sadler from the University of Edinburgh who helped her create synthetic vanillin from plastic. This food additive is commonly sold in supermarkets and used as a cheaper alternative to vanilla.

Produced from the same raw material as plastic - crude oil - so the reason is they only need enzymes to break the super strong bonds between molecules in the plastic structure, and other enzymes to synthesize molecules into vanillin material, which will be processed into ice cream.

"At the moment the first enzyme breaks the chain, the material is no longer plastic or polymer, but monomer. That is its element," said the young designer. "

Mikroplastik looks like a molecule, but in fact it is a very small and non-degradable piece of plastic. From this process, the resulting substance apparently smells like vanillin, but Eleonora has not tasted it yet, nor have others. Because this is the first in the world, this material is considered truly new by the food safety agency, so no one is allowed to consume it until the material is studied and deemed safe to consume.

The first vanilla ice cream seasoned with synthetic plastic vanillin is currently stored in the refrigerator and displayed at Central Saint Martins. Eleonora hopes that her achievement will initiate a conversation about recycling and how we perceive synthetic and natural products. Source: Oddity Central