Vax has unveiled a cardboard vacuum cleaner, made from its own packaging.
The Vax ev was designed by Jake Tyler, a Vax intern and student at the U.K.’s Loughborough University, with support by the company’s new product design team. The firm, one of the U.K.’s leading vacuum brands, says it is now exploring a limited production run of the product.
The vacuum cleaner body is made of flame-retardant cardboard panels, which start out as part of the retail box the cleaner is sold in. Consumers then separate the parts and snap the pieces into place around the motor housing, without using any glue.
Those components that cannot practically be made of cardboard are made from recyclable, pure nylon plastic using RP (rapid process) manufacturing, rather than injection moulding. This means the Vax ev can be manufactured locally to order, the company says, without the need for costly tooling molds and assembly lines.
The cardboard panels that form the vacuum cleaner body are easily replaced if damaged, Vax says. The panels cost just a tenth of the price of an equivalent plastic panel, the company adds.
Vax says of the design, “The Vax ev is a high performance vacuum cleaner constructed for optimum sustainability, using recycled and recyclable materials that reduce the burden on landfill.”
Plus, it adds, “With just a few felt tip pens you can turn your vacuum cleaner into a unique work of art!”
“With sustainability becoming an increasing concern for manufacturers, the Vax ev shows just what can be achieved when young designers are encouraged to think creatively and push the boundaries of product design,” said Paul Bagwell, director of new product design. “It’s so important that manufacturers such as ourselves support young British designers like Jake, as they are they key to this country’s future success.”
In other packaging news, Virent has made paraxylene (PX) from 100 percent renewable plant sugars, Sustainable Plant reports. The PX molecule can be combined with existing PET technology to create 100 percent renewable, plant-based PET and packaging, Virent says.
“Our PX can be blended at any ratio the customer desires, and made from a wide variety of feedstocks, including sugar cane, corn and woody biomass,” CEO Lee Edwards says.
