Halo Tray
The Halo Tray is crafted from post-consumer polystyrene, giving discarded material a second life. In collaboration with Friedrich Kegel Easymoulds, we explored the potential of compression molding, an energy-efficient process that allows us to repurpose waste that is typically unrecyclable. The development involved building and modifying a custom press setup, organized and constructed by Friedrich, with support from Precious Plastic. By working with key parameters like pressure and heat, we were able to partially melt the plastic fragments achieving structural integrity with minimal energy input.
This process opens an alternative to conventional sheet of recycled plastic, as it enables the creation of parts that combine the aesthetic of pressed plastic with the surface quality of injection moulded pieces, yet at a lower cost than machined plates. One major advantage of compression molding is that it can also process impure or mixed materials, which are often unsuitable for injection molding. Sorting such materials remains one of the biggest challenges. Each tray is formed by pressing fragments of post-consumer plastic into shape. The resulting surface structure and pattern emerge naturally through the process itself, giving every object a unique, speckled texture.
