Sea Stone | newtab-22

Name of the submitted project or idea (in English or both English and your language)

Sea Stone
URL of a video introducing the work（under 5 minutes）

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yNzEDOSUp8
Detailed explanation of the submitted project or idea (in English or both English and your language)

Every year, 7 million tons of seashells are discarded by the seafood industry and
aquaculture. Even though some of the seashells have been recycled and used as fertilizers,
the majority of them are being thrown into landfills or by the seaside. The discarded
seashells which are uncleaned or rotten have not been cleared away at all and have been
piling up near the beach for a long time, thus, causing odour pollution and polluting the
surrounding land in the long run.
Yet, these shells are materials with high potential, which consist of over 90% calcium
carbonate, containing similar to the one of what calcium carbonate in the limestone
contains and seen as a valuable material.
Project ‘Sea Stone’ proposes the use of discarded seashells to create environmentally and
economically sustainable material.
Moreover, it is expected to positively impact on three effects such as reducing waste
disposal costs, preventing marine pollution, and recycling waste by creating value-added
products with artistic, aesthetic, and functional new uses.
How does your work address the 3 P’s (for Planet, for People, for Profit) for Sustainability?

We first started the 'Sea Stone' project at the Royal College of Art in the UK as part of a sustainable design and materials project, and during our master’s program, while studying 'Sustainable Design for Future Environments'. While we studied, we were interested in wasted material, especially in the sea food waste category. This is because our home country, South Korea has lots of mussel and oyster aqua farms, which naturally and inevitably generate waste of seashells. We have seen native people near the aqua farm suffering from the odours from the waste, and it is also not good to see discarded shells piling up near the seaside. However, these shells contain over 90% calcium carbonate, the main component of limestone, making them a valuable resource. So, we began with the question and developed the project: "Could we use this resource to propose environmentally sustainable products that people can use?" This project originated from our curiosity about how to offer environmentally valuable solutions with a wide range of possibilities in design.
Keywords

Sustainability, Sustainable Material, New material, Innovative, Waste Material, Seashell
If you have a website for your submitted project or idea, please provide the URL

www.newtab-22.com
If you have a social media account for your submitted project or idea, please provide the URL

https://www.instagram.com/newtab_22/
Special Prize Question 1: "Empowering nature to create a new loop”: How does your work strengthen or support nature’s ability to capture and convert waste into valuable resources? How does your work advance industry practices by introducing nature-positive alternatives?

The project was started with the curiosity of how we could turn wasted seashells into useful
resources and suggest various possibilities from this result.
We have put our huge effort into implementing the material ‘Sea Stone’ to be used in real
life. For instance, we have recently closely connected with the aquaculture industry in Korea

in our attempt to continuously find sustainable ways of utilising our resources and
manualising the making process by embracing machines and other equipment.
As a result, we have developed small-scale size of decorative tiles and interior products such
as mirror, vase, candle holder and so on.
We intend to integrate Sea Stone to the connection from the debris state to the beautiful
home interior objects so that you can see the discarded shells had done their long journey.
Special Prize Question 2: “Regenerating ecosystems”: In what inspiring ways does your work contribute to the restoration and stabilization of natural ecosystems?

We contribute to reducing the waste shells - Oysters, Mussel and any other type of shells - in local areas which are considered as a huge problem in South Korea. In South Korea, not only does shell waste disposal cost over 20 billion KRW annually, but 30% of the discarded shells are left piled up near the sea, causing environmental pollution and hindering the development of aquaculture. Additionally, the foul odors lead to complaints from local residents. Our Sea Stone project was developed to address these issues in the long term.
Special Prize Question 3: “Education and storytelling”: How does your work make complex bioeconomy concepts accessible and engaging?

Our genuine motivation came from our interest in using local waste and materials. Seeing the positive feedback from the local community and their encouragement gives us the energy to keep moving forward with the project.
When we first started the Sea Stone Project, using discarded shells was not common in the design sector. We could find some related reference by looking into architecture thesis or reports which demonstrate ancient methods of making concrete using seashells.
But now, lots of designers and artists are trying to find a new way of using discarded shells or discarded materials. We reckon this phenomenon is a very good thing to go forward for the future and appreciate all the research. We hope that our efforts and actions will inspire meaningful change.