Old Objects Fit New Purposes

Cigarette box toaster from Kingston Penitentiary.

iPod Nano case by Contexture Design.

The Royal Ontario Museum presented an exciting exhibition of creative redesign, playfully entitled Cut/Paste. Curated by Motherbrand, this display showed work that is made from salvaged and reused objects that have found new, creative niches.

What once may have been considered obsolete or of-the-past were repurposed to have more up-to-date functions. Cofounder of Motherbrand, Todd Falkowsky, says “Environmental sustainability is an issue that most of these designs address in some way. This is a powerful tactic for reducing our consumption of energy and materials; it forces us to reconsider what we consider waste.” This strategy, rumored to be the way of the future, is sure to successfully deal with the growing pressures from the struggling economy and environment.

The Cut/Paste exhibit ran from January 20th to 31st of 2010.

Via TreeHugger.

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Designers Using Recycled Materials: Furniture From Available Objects

Malafor has come up with a simple and easily stored furniture design entitled the Blow Sofa. It is made of 100% recycled and recyclable (inflatable) paper dunnage bags, which are traditionally used for cushioning and stabilizing cargo amidst rocky transportation.

For a comfortable rest, one just has to blow up the bags, which are completely transportable and easy to assemble. The materials used to construct this sofa are the recycled dunnage bags, a metal rack, rubber straps (and air).

More new furniture from Malafor can be found by clicking here.

Via Daily Coverage.

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Sustainability and Anti-Weapons Initiatives Meet at the London Olympic Stadium

The design proposal for the new 2012 London Olympic Stadium by Populous (formerly HOK Sports) boasts many green building initiatives, not least of which is their use of recycled guns and knives as structural steel. In the last year, the Metropolitan Police have collected more than 52 tonnes of scrap metal from old keys, knives and guns and now it’s being melted down to form the structure of the new stadium!

Sustainability doesn’t stop at the structure, the design also features a host of other environmentally friendly materials such as a façade of hemp.

Furthermore, and possibly most exciting, the entire stadium will be prefab and flat-packed. This construction technique not only significantly reduces the environmental impact of the structure as it is constructed but allows for the entire stadium to be broken down and shipped off to the next host city for reuse. The potential is enormous! Gone are the days of reconstructing massive stadiums every two years for a single use, this new system effectively eliminates wasteful obsolescence.

Currently, talks are underway with Chicago, but London organizers hope that their offer is taken up by whoever wins the games. If the plan goes forward, this would be the largest amount of seats ever moved from one place to the next, and the first time in history that a stadium of this size has been moved.

Via Inhabitat.

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reMade USA: Bags From Previously Loved Fabric And Leather

reMade USA is a design company that upcycles used materials to make one-of-a-kind objects. Their mission is to create beautiful, long-lasting, well-made products that positively impact the environment, their users and their makers. All of the products they make are hand-crafted in Potrero Hill in San Francisco, California. Their first line is a range of bags made from used leather clothing and scrap. They are also committed to the principles of sustainable design outlined by The Designers Accord.

reMade is available in two collections, Ready to Order and One-Offs. Each bag is a limited edition of one and bears its own serial number that reflects its uniqueness. They source our materials in a variety of ways. Thrift stores and scraps from the furniture and automotive upholstery industry are their main sources. For the bag linings, they use vintage scarves. They also accept donations of all kinds of leather. If you choose to supply your own jacket, they do take special orders and will make you a bag based on one of their current designs.

Follow them on Twitter to stay up to date on what they are up to. Visit http://www.remadeusa.com to learn more.

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Recycled Beverage Containers

Image from iF Material Award 2009

For those of us who are always on the go and cannot live without a cup of coffee every morning, check out these tumblers made of yogurt and ice cream containers! According to Aladdin’s research, it’s difficult to use recycled polypropylene (PP) for direct food contact surfaces but these tumblers passed both FDA and EU safety regulations. You can throw these in the dishwasher and the microwave. The material, eCycle® is engineered for Aladdin’s SUSTAIN® Collecion and featured in iF Material Award 2009.

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The Reusable Bag Debate

Image: Apartment Therapy

According to a study conducted by the Environment and Plastics Industry Council (EPIC) in Canada, there are health risks with using reusable bags. Cathy Cirko, the Vice President of EPIC, stated that “reusables are a breeding ground for bacteria and pose public health risks – food poisoning, skin infections such as bacterial boils, allergic reactions, triggering of asthma attacks, and ear infections.”

Naturally, reusable-bag-lovers have dismissed the study as the plastics industry’s attempt to slow the growing movement towards plastic reduction. That may be true, but consumers should rather take the news as a reminder that a little dose of common sense goes a long way. There are a few things that can be done to ensure that reusable bags do not backfire as an environment friendly option while posing health risks. For multipurpose uses, separate bags should be used to carry different items, such as grocery and gym equipment. Even for grocery, meat, dairy products, and vegetables should be carried in separate bags. In the case that bags are carrying food, the they can and should be washed regularly and carefully.

Many reusable bags are washable; although the ones made from recycled bottles can be cleaned, bags made of organic or recycled cotton may be easier since they can be thrown in with the rest of laundry and dried in a conventional washer (or line dried to save energy).

Click here to view EPIC’s study

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Recycled Hangers: A Step In The Right Direction

The ubiquitous wire hanger has been around for ever. In fact, 3.5 billion hangers are used every year. One marketing company decided to take a step in the right direction by creating a more intelligent design which also functions as a platform for advertising. No new trees are used in making “EcoHangers”. The hanger itself is constructed from 100% recycled paper and the hook is made from recycled plastic bottle caps. If business have the local resources to do so, they can recycle the entire hanger at the end of it’s life. The hanger is also durable and can be reused. EcoHangers are made from renewable resources and made in the USA. According to them, the demand for their product is helping recyclers to create new programs to reclaim even more post-consumer papers and plastics.

For more information see, hangernetwork.com

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The Self Powered iPod Recycling Speaker

Did you ever wonder what you could use those pesky plastic cases for rather than just tossing them in the trash? Well Bird Electron has come up with a novel idea that turns the plastic packaging of the iPod Nano (1st & 2nd gen) and Shuffle (2nd & 3rd gen) into a portable speaker system.

The Recycling speaker system does not require any additional power source; all that’s required is to place the speaker on top of the plastic package, plug in and play. It is an elegantly simple device that can even be tailored to custom designs using water bottles or other small containers for speakers.

The Bird-Electron Recycling Speaker retails for $40 and can be found at AudioCubes.com.

via: One Digital Life

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