Design ProjectJustin Jones, Diego Saavedra, Drew Holt, Samantha

Daniell

Objective

Create an eco-friendly packaging system that will protect an egg from breaking after falling two stories

10cm x 10cm box

Constructed out of chosen material

Insulated with chosen biodegradable material(s)

Packaging performance to be determined by the condition of the dropped egg

Methods and Design

Box ¼ in sheets of plywood cut into 10 cm squares

Wood glue used to adhere the sides

Methods and Design – Box CAD Drawing

Methods and Design

First option: Egg surrounded by tightly packed pine straw to stabilize during the fall

Second option:

Egg wrapped in 100% cotton for extra shock absorption

Wrapped egg stabilized with pine straw

Testing

Option 1: pine straw alone Unsuccessful

Not enough shock absorption

Option 2: pine straw + 100% cotton

Successful

Cotton provided the shock absorption lacking in Option 1

Life Cycle Analysis

Egg companies typically use polystyrene foam to ship eggs

Wind up in landfills

Pine straw is organic material (biodegradable)

Can be reused multiple times for shipping

Can be repurposed for landscaping

Cotton is organic material (biodegradable)

Can get 100% cotton from textile factories that have waste (repurposing!)

Can be reused multiple times for shipping

Can be repurposed by textile waste companies like Leigh

Cost Analysis

We had the materials on hand, no cost to us

A shipping company would not be so fortunate

Textile waste can be donated to a shipping company

Pine straw costs ~$60 per 100 square feet

Each egg allowed 10 cm x 10 cm space

$60 of pine straw would ship ~930 eggs

Polystyrene foam can costs $2.75 per 25 eggs

To ship 930 eggs would cost $100 ($40 more than our pine straw/textile alternative)

Sources

http://www.egglandsbest.com/about-us/sustainability.aspx

http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/materials/textiles.htm

http://www.leighfibers.com/textile_salvage/

http://shop.pinestraw.com/collections/pine-straw-home-delivered

http://southernfarmhatchery.com/Egg-Shipping-Foam.php

The End