Cigarette filters, shells, and hair extensions will all be transformed for Green Grads London.

Waste becomes a valuable resource in the hands of the Green Grads, with the fifth cohort exhibiting this weekend in Hackney, London (15/16 November).

Creative use of waste is the main preoccupation for Green Grads at Yorkton Workshops, the upcoming November show of eco-conscious projects from 25 recent graduates of UK universities. This unique spread of talent is returning for the second time to the gallery of Pearson Lloyd design practice in East London for this coming weekend.

On display is a laser-etched circuit board made of waste wool which is naturally conductive and biodegradable, devised by Hinna Khan. This eliminates e-waste and supports farmers – who are often paid less for a fleece than it costs to sheer it. Also on show is a 3D printer to make small items from compacted waste wool by Iestyn Howorth.

Then there are acoustic panels made from waste cigarette filters, presented by Salma Garsana and a glaze for ceramics made from cigarette ash, refined by Neve Beill. Ollie Stroud has made tableware from waste shellfish debris from the seafood industry.

Katherine Soucie’s “wall of waste” will illustrate her just-completed PhD thesis which proposes new ways of viewing and tackling waste in the textile industry. And Charley Softley goes “urban foraging” for furniture components.

Abandoned bike parts can be attached to a plywood frame for a bike by Green Grad Alex Clark, whose design is already up and running in workshops for London kids. There are even slippers made of dust by Rhat Rai.

Mindful that modern printing “immortalises” waste, trapping materials behind petrochemical inks, Peerasin Hutaphet’s GROWinK prints biodegradable images on paper, fabric and eventually on plastics.

Biomaterials and natural dyes also have a strong showing.

Amber Fry shares natural dye expertise honed for seven years on her Kent allotment. In Cornwall Jenna Handley has developed fibres and dyes from seaweed for local knitters.

Funmi Olawuyi’s hair extensions propose a plant-based alternative to the synthetics commonly in use.

Green Grads takes place 15/16 November 2025 at Yorkton Workshops, 1-3 Yorkton Street, London E2 8NH. Admission is free and no booking is required. Discover more here.