Thursday, June 14, 2012

The End Has No End

Waste, waste, waste, our world is filled with it! It is not hard to believe when you really think about it! How many times do you take our a huge plastic bag filled with food, packaging, paper, foil. chemicals, and whatever else? I know I probably take a trip to the dumpster at least three times a week if not more and thats from just me and a small dog! My waste is just from the consumer side too, Im not producing tons and tons of product using endless amounts of energy, chemicals, water, and extra unusable pieces made in production. Can you just imagine the amount of waste from factories that do not practice any kind of recycling or reusing methods? In the article Sustainable Waste Management Systems by Jeffery K. Seadon he makes a powerful statement about waste saying “Waste is a result of inadequate thinking. The traditional approaches to waste management of ‘flame, flush, or fling’ are outmoded customs which have resulted in an unsutainable society.” I think that Seadon frames this statement perfectly, the methods in which we dispose of things is in a poor manner regarding the well being of our planet and those living on it. 


“Whatever is naturally here is all we have. Whatever humans make does not go ‘away’” In the article waste equals food by William McDonough and Michael Braungart the concept of cradle to cradle is constructed. This means that from the beginning of the the design process we could decrease waste by create products with only biodegradable elements so that once a product has reached the period where it is no longer usable or the consumer is done with it, the product could be put back into the earth and help it not harm it with chemicals or such. Cradle to Cradle also means that once and item is in its end stage it could be recycled or reused to become something new essentially making it to where nothing resulting in waste. “To eliminate the concept of waste means to design things- products, packaging, and systems -from the very beginning on the understanding that waste does not exist”. another very well put point in the Waste Equals Food article. As designers, both apparel and interior, if we don't make the concept of waste and option and adopt the values of the cradle to cradle method there will not be any worries of harming the well being of our planet and sustainable design is achieved. How can we as designers go about adopting the cradle to cradle method though?

I think the most important way designers can adopt the cradle to cradle method is by “identifying all the substance contained in the product and how to reuse them, separate them, or return them to their ‘spheres’” as mentioned by Ann Thorpe her book. The Designer’s Atlas of sustainability. This means that if we as designers research and know exactly what makes up our product we can control what it will achieve once the product reaches its final stages of use. Designers have great organizations to reference to like LEED and GOTS which set standards for sustainable methods as far as reuse, recycling, and deigning. These organizations are a great tool for designers and set wonderful high sustainability standards but the problem I see with these is that, from my understanding, they are not mandatory in design. They are an optional standards to use, which for those not concerned about sustainable design don't even have to regard being held to these great standards. If the standards brought on by these organizations could be made mandatory in some shape or form I feel like a design paradigm shift would be universally possible. 

For those designers that consciously design which sustainable morals there are ways that we as designers can reuse product that are at their end use for consumers and that we might not have designed ourselves. We can do this with two concepts, recycling and reusing. Recycling is when a product it separated, and or reprocessed at fiber level to make a new product. Unfortunately there is a non ideal type of recycling called down cycling, in which a product is still created new from old recycled products but the value of the new product is less than that of the original. Ann Thorpe points our in her book that sadly this is the main type of recycling that takes place. The positive recycling method is called up cycling. This is when a product is made new with and old recycled product but its new product value is worth the same value or more than the original product. Up cycling is obviously the most ideal type of recycling! As far as the reusing method this is when a product is reused at about the same form as the origingal product. The reused product is not decomposed into the fiber stage in anyway it is simply more modified and cleaned up. 


Luckily for us interior designers I think the concept of up cycling thorough reuse is a lot easier to achieve in our field verses the apparel industry. This is because all kinds of home items such as furniture be fixed up through some cleaning supplies, paint, and fabrics. I have personally done this with several pieces in my home. I have turned an old dresser into a unique personalized buffet in my kitchen through some spick and spanning, a few coats of paint, and some new hardware. I also was able to take an old door from a dump site and turn it into a wall tree/mud bench by cleaning, painting, and adding new hardware and an attached shelf. These items that I found were ready to go in a land fill but by using the reuse method I was able to increase their original value though up cycling. My examples are just a few ways other designers, and even consumers in general can accomplish. There are craft sites all over the internet dedicated to up cycling all kinds of products that could other wise be sitting in landfills. Below is a video of how design assistant Julia Black up cycles hidden treasures from thrift shops and old products that could otherwise seem useless by the reuse method. 

So in the end the concept that is most important is that the end has no end. With product having no end how can there be waste? If there is no waste how can we be harming our environment? If we aren't harming our environment then we are achieving sustainable design aren't we? 


10 comments:

  1. Kaitlin, great blog! Full of valuable information that I believe a lot of people should hear. I'm with you, I think there are a lot ways that people can reuse older products that are currently just laying around, or possibly even in the dump area. Creative juices are a crucial key element when it comes to forming idea on how to reuse products in thrift stores, consignment shops, etc. But what about those people who don't have the same "creative skills" like some of us? A lot of people, especially those who are more wealthy have no problem disposing of items that are impaired, broken, or aesthetically incorrect. My question is, how should we get society to all be on the same level of reusing the same material and keeping our world a C2C environment?

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    1. Hello Hannah!

      You bring some great questions to the table! For those that are not concerned with reusing or those who are not interested or capable of up cycling with reusing products I wonder if there are places they could take some unusual items that could not be recycled through the recycling system in place today, that way those wanting to reuse and create new things could have a place to gather more materials. A crafting supplies warehouse of some sort? As far as recycling goes I wonder if a better recycling system could be evolved? One with more recycling options besides paper, plastic, and glass. This might help as long as it doesn't develop into more down cycling systems like ones happening today. Also if we as designers could make sure to use the principles of designing products to biological and technical nutrients it could help as well. Maybe a tag could be on products informing how to reuse and recycle the product so people would be more informed too. In the article Waste Equals Food the it talks about how many products are not able to be affectively up cycled or even recycled for that matter because they are not designed to be easily disposed of in that way. The product they refer too is a car which does not relate to our field but conveys the idea well "...these materials are lost or degraded even in recycling because cars are not designed from the beginning for effective, optimal recycling as technical nutrients"

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    2. I like the crafting store house idea! Providing a place to take "recyclable" trinkets and items that people could reuse for crafting and what not. And because they are already used and somewhat useless for being saved, people could purchase items for an incredibly low price! Great idea!

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  2. Hey Kaitlin!

    Awesome use of sources and I loved your blog this week. The personal testimonies and pictures made it interesting. I agree with you and Hannah about reusing old or outdated products. I have difficulty thinking of ways to reinvent something without spending more money, especially apparel. My sewing skills are lax and I feel like the majority of the population does not care or understand the value of making something themselves. I was wondering of what other companies you researched that used the C2C method or have been certified?

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    1. Hello Natalie thank you for your comment! I am have not researched anymore companies using the c2c method but I will do so and get back to you!

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  3. Kaitlin,
    Great blog! I agree with you when you say that the LEED standards should be mandatory, not optional. I wonder why they aren't already? To me, that makes perfect sense! Obviously designing with more standards and regulations is more difficult, but I think it would be such a better outcome! I also think that we are the most creative with the more restrictions placed upon us. So if these standards were mandatory, rather than optional, I think we would be taking a huge step as designers. I just don't understand that if we know of methods and materials we can use to help, why not just make them a mandatory standard? We have the power to do that! Very interesting!

    p.s. I love the furniture that you recreated!

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    1. Thank you for your complements Jessica! I agree with all you have to say!! I guess what we are both really wondering is how can they become mandatory? Or what steps need to be taken to help move that process along?

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    2. It seems like it wouldn't be that difficult to me! I just don't know who decides what rules and regulations are mandatory! You would think since the sustainability issue is so high strung that whoever/whatever organization that is, would just go ahead and make that change and then us as designers would face that challenge but it seems totally worth it!

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  4. Kaitlin,

    Wow. It is wild how much we trash we dispose of. I know for my family of five at home we take out the trash at least once a day! That is a whole lot of trash! Do you think there are ways as consumers to cut down on our waste? Is recycling the only answer? I agree, I believe in biodegradable materials, however I was researching and some studies show that certain biodegradable materials do more harm than good. If this is the case is there any hope for saving the planet? I agree that LEED and GOTS are wonderful organizations, but is it possible for these organizations to create standards in every business? What will it take for society to better adopt these standards? I am glad you posed the idea of up-cycling, I believe that this could create a dramatic change in the design field and in our world of sustainability. I already see so many designers on HGTV and in magazines up-cycling and reusing furniture and other materials. I am so glad that this change has happened in the media, because the media changes societies viewpoint so much! It has changed mine greatly, and now restoring old furniture is one of my favorite hobbies! Great job on your blog, Kaitlin!

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    1. Hello haley! Thank you for your comment! As far as the bad biodegradable products you have mentioned. Harmful biodegradeable products are not what I was particularly referring to but I find your research very interesting! Thank you for mentioning that! I do think that using through sustainable biodegradeable products they could be the alternative to recycling. I agree with you hgtv does a great job supporting reuseig methods!! I love shows like that. As mentioned too pintrest is a great site that promotes it too!

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