industrial design

A Leeds University research team headed by Prof Burkinshaw has developed the Xeros washing machine that uses thousands of reusable plastic chips to remove and absorb dirt.

The little plastic chips clean clothes by pounding the dirt out of them. Some 20kg (45lbs) of chips are added to the machine along with one cup of water and detergent. The chips can be used for up to 100 cycles, or about 6 months of washing.

The machine uses just one cup of water per cycle which is less than 2% of the water – and energy – of a conventional model.

And, what do you do with those 20kg of plastic chips after six months? Will they disappear in 3 months just like the plastic bags?