Earlier this year, we wrote about how the city of Sevilla, Spain, is using leftover oranges to generate clean energy. Driven by the same mission to turn waste from citrus into something useful, Milan-based startup Krill Design has 3D printed orange peels into a sleek, compostable lamp, dubbed ‘Ohmie.’
Each lightweight lamp is made from the discarded peels of two or three Sicilian oranges, sourced from a family-owned food producer in the Messina province of Sicily, where the citrus is common.
“We needed a material that would not run out and given that Sicily alone produces about three percent of global oranges, that allows us to stock up on the peels and be able to always produce Ohmie,” Krill Design told Dezeen. “We are keen on promoting a local and fully Italian supply and production chain. Oranges are one of the many Italian produces renowned worldwide and we believe it is a nice symbol.”
As part of the production process, Krill Design uses 3D printing to avoid as much waste as possible during manufacturing. The obtained waste orange peels are dried, ground into a powder, then mixed with a plant-derived biopolymer to form pellets.
The lamp’s surface resembles that of an orange, and together with its orangey smell and vibrant color, the 23-centimeter-tall lamp is designed to reflect its origins. Overall, the designers hope the lamp will showcase how food waste can be successfully repurposed into an “eco-design product that is both beautiful and functional.”
At the end of its life, the lamp can be broken down into smaller pieces before being thrown away with a household’s organic waste.
