Michigan Explores Food Waste as Resource for New Biomaterials

By Andi Anderson

A new Michigan initiative is exploring how food scraps, farm byproducts, and surplus food can become valuable resources for sustainable manufacturing.

Michigan Sustainable Business Forum, in partnership with the international nonprofit Materiom and supported by the Wege Foundation and Google.org, is leading a statewide byproduct value chain mapping project to uncover new uses for food waste.

The effort focuses on transforming materials that are often discarded—such as coffee grounds, sawdust, and fruit byproducts—into innovative biomaterials. These can be used to make compostable packaging, textiles, durable goods, and building products.

“Coffee grounds and sawdust can be easily remade as coasters and pot stands. Egg shell paste can be formulated for 3D printing. Leather substitutes from apple byproducts or banana peels. We see a great deal of potential here for win-win-win solutions,” said Daniel Schoonmaker, Executive Director of Michigan Sustainable Business Forum.

By repurposing an estimated 1.2 million tons of food loss and waste each year, the project aims to support the goals of the MI Healthy Climate Plan while lowering methane emissions and improving materials management. This aligns with the Forum’s broader mission to build a regenerative economy for Michigan.

Materiom, which partners with communities worldwide to develop renewable material alternatives, emphasizes the urgency of moving away from petrochemical plastics.

“Petrochemical plastics run in our blood streams, emit toxic greenhouse gasses throughout their life cycles, and pollute every marine and terrestrial ecosystem on the planet,” said Alysia Garmulewicz, founder and co-CEO of Materiom. She stressed the need for “plastic-free material alternatives that regenerate, rather than pollute, the planet.”

The initiative will explore the potential of 100 percent biobased materials made from local food industry waste that can decompose naturally and enrich soil.

These innovations could replace plastics in packaging, textiles, and other sectors while creating economic opportunities for farms and food processors.

Michigan Sustainable Business Forum will introduce the program during a webinar on Thursday, October 2, inviting stakeholders to learn how food waste can power a cleaner, more sustainable future.

Photo Credit: pexels-julia-m-cameron