The world’s population is growing, and the amount of garbage is increasing. Plastic is recognized as the main anti-hero. The problem of “plastic pollution” – plastic pollution – is already on par with global warming. Designers contribute to its solution.
What is “plastic pollution”? Since 1950, humanity has produced about 6.3 billion tons of plastic, of which only about 9 percent has been recycled – the main amount of waste inevitably ends up in the environment. Every day, approximately 8 million pieces of plastic products, bottles, bags, etc. end up in the ocean. About 5.25 trillion units with a total weight of 269 thousand tons float in its waters.
To make it easier to appreciate the scale of the disaster, University of Georgia professor Jenna Jembek offers an illustrative example: imagine that every 300 meters along all the coasts of the world there are five grocery bags full of plastic garbage. That’s how much plastic, according to Jembek, is dumped into the ocean every year. How long does it take for plastic to break down into molecules? From 200 years to eternity.
News reports are full of stories about sharks or dolphins entangled in the wilds of garbage, swallowing plastic bags – 400,000 mammals die every year from plastic pollution. The inhabitants of the ocean, from zooplankton to whales, began to feed on microplastics – particles up to 5 mm in size. Fish, mammals, and birds take them for food. It is estimated that microplastics make up about 10% of beach coverage worldwide. Plastic is everywhere: in water, in the air, in animals. And in man.
Bad Plastics Plastics were invented at the end of the 19th century but became widespread in the middle of the 20th century. It is paradoxical that at first plastic even contributed to the salvation of nature: it replaced ivory, from which piano keys, billiard balls, and other objects were made. In the 1950s, he freed housewives from the hard work of washing dishes: disposable plates were temptingly cheap. Today, the advantage has turned into a reverse side: 40 percent of plastic products are designed just for one-time use. Basically, this is the packaging – that is, what is thrown away immediately after purchase. The cheapness of plastics provokes plastic pollution.
Not only those who litter are to blame for pollution: the main source of the problem is companies that produce products in disposable containers. Global giants Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Amcor, and Unilever have announced plans to “collect and recycle 100 percent of their packaging.”
In the summer of 2018, the European Parliament voted for a complete ban on plastic tableware. Cocktail straws, balloon sticks, cocktail stirrers, etc. will also be banned in the European Union. A growing number of countries have banned plastic bags, and fines and punishments up to imprisonment are provided for violators. The US, Canada, the UK, and several other countries have already passed laws to ban microplastics in cosmetics.
Good plastic In civilized countries, designers cannot stand aside: they invent new materials and try to turn garbage into objects of desire.
Crafting Plastics Studio has developed a new environmentally friendly Nuatan plastic made from cornstarch and cheap vegetable oil. Studios ML-XL is an artificial stone Silica stone, in the manufacture of which silicate production waste is used. Italians Orange Fiber has learned how to create fabric from the waste generated during the production of orange juice.
Even commercially oriented structures are advised to pay attention to items from waste. Adidas created Manchester United uniforms from recycled plastic, and Spanish fashion brand Ecoalf produces sneakers from plastic collected in rivers and oceans, as well as algae. It has become a good form among the stars of show business to wear a recycled dress to a fashionable party. Sustainable products no longer look ugly. They are visually and tactilely pleasing, occupying their own niche in the luxury segment: the already mentioned orange fiber Orange Fiber was used in its collection by the brand Salvatore Ferragamo.
Designer Michael Anastassiades has proposed returning drinking water fountains to the streets of the city, which would replace the harmful plastic bottles. The project is called A Fountain for London. The prototype of Anastassiades is a laconic fountain made of brass that is fashionable today. Result: more than 8,000 liters of water were drunk in a month from two models installed at Liverpool Street station, which corresponds to the contents of 16,000 bottles.
Ulysses Martel designed rugby jerseys from used bottles. The designer’s find is not only that he gets the thread from unnecessary plastic, but also that tracksuits are knitted on knitting machines: there is too much waste when cutting.
Saint Martins graduate Jen Keene has grown sneaker fabric in her bathroom. The project is called This Is Grown. Jen raises an important point: the development of new materials is only useful if the process of creating them does not cause even more harm to nature than the production of already-known materials.
Mexican Fernando Laposse offers another way: why invent something new if you can use what has been tested over time? With his installation Sisal Sanctum, he drew attention to sisal, a material made from agave fibers. Today it is almost not in demand in production, while it is durable and environmentally friendly. Laposset placed sofas and poufs made of the same material inside the semicircular screens braided with sisal, and assigned a “sisal” guard to them.
Charlotte Kiger invented vases and stools from industrial waste-compressed polyurethane dust. Charlotte herself calls herself a material designer: her experiments are based on materials. Obviously, new modifications of plastic will stimulate the emergence of new forms.
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