Based in the United Kingdom, designers Michael McManus and Matthew Grant of Dust London are creating homeware that is inspired by origami and made from tea waste.
Dust London says that tea waste was selected as the key material for their homeware collection as they desired to reduce the amount of waste associated with the consumption of tea.
“Our mission is to partner with local cafes to source the tea waste for our objects,” explained Dust London. “We want to raise awareness that 20 million teabags are thrown away every day in London and almost all are made with a single a use plastic, which cannot be recycled. With each pledge we are recycling more of this waste and with your support our collection can continue to grow.”
A range of natural pigments can also be enjoyed by using tea waste.
The homeware collection is composed of vases, planters and coasters.
To create the pieces, the tea waste is first dried and mixed within a non-toxic binder. Once the desired consistency is achieved, the material is poured into moulds that are made using traditional origami techniques.
