This is NOT a flock of sheep. It's a BOAT
And not just that!
The whole world is in serious trouble because plastic waste is literally everywhere, including human blood.
The wool industry of New Zealand is in serious trouble because demand for the coarse, “strong wool” typically used for carpets and rugs that constitutes 80% of its production is in serious decline.
Shear Edge, a New Zealand company, hopes to make the first problem a bit smaller by solving the first.
Shear Edge technology transforms wool unsuitable for clothing into pellets usable to make not just the boats and kayaks you see in this post, but also “knives, fencing, and just about anything that’s currently made using plastic”:
More in detail, Shear Edge wool pellets:
- in and by themselves are 100% recyclable
- can be mixed with several types of plastic to make products that are both lighter and stronger…
- … by using existing plastic-forming machinery, for “almost all forms of manufacturing”
What’s left? Money and awareness of course
The only question is, quoting Wired, “whether Shear Edge’s approach, which costs some 20 percent more than the equivalent polymer, will entice enough manufacturers to make the global impact [the company] is hoping for”.
I hope it does, because it is stuff like this is real innovation. Not the next gadget that gets funding only because it is “digital”, without solving any real problem.
Who writes this, why, and how to help
I am Marco Fioretti, tech writer and aspiring polymath doing human-digital research and popularization.
I do it because YOUR civil rights and the quality of YOUR life depend every year more on how software is used AROUND you.
To this end, I have already shared more than a million words on this blog, without any paywall or user tracking, and am sharing the next million through a newsletter, also without any paywall.
The more direct support I get, the more I can continue to inform for free parents, teachers, decision makers, and everybody else who should know more stuff like this. You can support me with paid subscriptions to my newsletter, donations via PayPal (mfioretti@nexaima.net) or LiberaPay, or in any of the other ways listed here.THANKS for your support!