WASTIFICATION DESIGN PRACTICE DOCUMENTAION s3712929
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Ben Canham
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May 2020
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Wastification
Contents 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09
Author Biography Introduction Process and Outcomes Inspiration Moodboard Documentation Prototype Conclusion References 3
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C H A P T E R O N E
Author Biography I have previously completed my Diploma of Product Design at RMIT in 2019. I am currently undertaking a Bachelor of Industrial Design at RMIT. I have been riding bikes for as long as I can remember. From toddler balance bikes and bmxs to mountain and road bikes I have always had a passion in bikes no matter the classification. Although, some may consider me as a hoarder, I don’t believe something should be thrown out merely because you no longer use it or it no longer is required for its formal purpose. Even when broken, either parts or the whole product has the opportunity to be repurposed or upcyled. I have already expressed my interest in this topic whilst completing my Diploma of Product Design in past years. I utilized the rear chain and seat stay of an old unused frame as well as a discarded cardboard tv box to create a bicycleinspired desk light. I believe these prevailing practices are important for our future in order to prevent the build up of useable products and materials in our landfills. It provides individuals with the opportunity to express their own personal passions and interests in a beautiful and creative way.
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C H A P T E R T W O
Introduction
For this assignment, I will answer the question “How do I physically and tangibly represent my idea of Wastification, namely the beautification through design out waste?�. I will be putting my design proposition that was developed in general terms within assignment two as well as conveying my idea of Wastification through my design and creative work. We are required to create a tangible prototype of a functional product that is entirely derived from unused products and discarded parts. I will document this process and personally reflect on my actions undertaken, giving an account of what I have learned, how this knowledge orients within the design field, and what this new knowledge may mean for my progression within the Industrial Design program and my future professional practice.
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Process - Outcomes
Introduction: Waste in Australia is becoming a significant problem due to the increase in population. Currently, Australia is producing 48 million tons of waste annually, arising from 3 main sources including; household waste, commercial and industrial waste, and building and demolition waste. Household waste contributes to up half of the total waste in Australia, with each person contributing up to half a ton each year (Kiley Quinlevan, Kia Thao, Cally Bloch & Rorie Buchanan, 2018). These enormous quantities of waste result in severely impacting the environment. In Australia, landfills are close to agricultural land, due to this leachate can leak into the soil and contaminate the land. Leachate is when water mixes with other substances, as water flows through or around landfills it breaks down substances and carries them with it (Kiley Quinlevan, Kia Thao, Cally Bloch & Rorie Buchanan, 2018). This paper aims to critically analyse the difference between recycling and upcycling as well as underlining common misconceptions that are frequently overlooked. The report will delve into the ways in which upcycling practices will result in an environmental gain. Various academic articles and disposal acquisition reports were drawn from in order to grasp an in-depth understanding of activities in relation to the merging of waste as well as research into creative design methods for the reuse, repurpose and reframe of waste. The paper will provide further recommendations of societal, economic and behavioral changes required to address issues Australia is currently facing. The paper also utilises models and illustrations to present findings on closed cycles, renewable energy, and systems thinking. Upcycling Sustainability Practices Upcycling is a term used in relation to the discourse of sustainability efforts. It is an untraditional sustainability practice, however, it is crucial that the exercise becomes mainstream to protect the environment. The majority of the population are aware of the term recycling, however, some are unclear about the difference between recycling and upcycling. Recycling can be described as a practice that takes an item and establishes a new purpose for it, returning it back to the cycle of daily contribution to society instead of discarding it to trash. Whereas, upcycling refers to reusing an object or material without degrading the quality and composition for its next use. For example, when plastic bottles are recycled, they usually are unable to transform it back into a container associated with things that will be ingested 8
Wastification due to the risk of seeping plastic. This results in it becoming items such as toys, carpets or clothing, which will ultimately become trash. Although recycling is very important and has many advantages, it is merely prolonging the inevitable by extending the waste stream and reducing the lifecycle costs of the material. Marcus Westbury (2010) expresses the importance of upcycling and uses the model to the right to illustrate the process of upcycling. The practice decreases the quantity of waste produced and the ‘need for new material to be harvested as feedstock for new generations of the product’ (M. Westbury, 2010). This will result in less energy expended during the production of plastic, resulting in fewer oil wells drilled, fewer mountains mined for metal and fewer trees felled for paper. The current treatment of soft drink cans is the closest process to a ‘true upcycling’. The aluminium cans have the ability to be melted down in order to be made into new cans, saving more than 90% of the energy required to create new cans from scratch. This can be an everlasting cycle, that results in a reduction in energy consumption and effectively eliminating certain materials from the waste stream. Humans produce an insane amount of waste, and the majority of this waste cannot be broken down fast. According to Rick LeBlanc (2019), plastic takes 1000 years to decompose. Upcycling is an advanced and superior process with goals that raise the bar for the handling of waste and has elucidated the fact that waste streams could potentially be eliminated entirely. Upcycling not only has environmental benefits, but it also presents an opportunity to draw from creative strengths which evidently can result in saving money. Upcycling creatively reuses products or materials the way they are or with minor alterations, with the intention to increase its value or quality. In doing this, you are giving a new life to a product by 9
B. Canham converting ‘waste’ into functional products. On account of the recent worldwide pandemic, COVID-19, the population has been given additional time to manage household waste and consider using it as an opportunity to turn their ‘trash into treasure’. Undertaking this process transforms unwanted materials into better quality and environmentally sound products. It can result in an array of unique and innovative products, art, or design items, which can potentially be an inexpensive way to redecorate. Circular Economy Living systems have been around for a few billion years. In the living world there is no landfill, as one species’ waste is the source of another’s food. Energy is produced naturally by the sun, where species grow, die and return its nutrients into the soil safely. This is an effective, environmentally sustainable cycle that can proceed for billions of years in the future. Humans, on the other hand, have adopted a linear approach: ‘we take, make and dispose’. For example, when a new mobile phone is released, the old one is disposed of. Or an individual’s dishwasher breaks, another is purchased. Each time this happens, it eats away at a finite supply of resources and more often than not, produces toxic waste. This system simply cannot function in the long term. If it is established that the living world’s cyclical model is successful, therefore we need to modify our thought process in order to employ a circular economy (Helen Kopnina, 2018).
If products, components and packaging were redesigned, it would create safe and compostable materials. Waste would help build capital instead of reducing it. No resources would be lost to produce to make material. Products like dishwashers and mobile phones 10
Wastification cannot biodegrade. Which is why it is crucial to readdress the cycle method of valuable metals, alloys and polymers to ensure they maintain their quality and proceed to be useful beyond the shelf life of individual products. Products and goods of today would be utilised as resources in the future. Instead of the ‘throw away and replace’ culture that the population has become accustomed to, a ‘return and renew’ culture would be adopted (PBL, 2019). Where products and components were designed to be dismantled and reconstructed. According to Korhonen, Nuur, Feldmann & Birkie (2018), a potential solution could be to readdress the perspective of ownership. Where consumers simply licensed technologies from manufacturers instead of purchasing them. The design of products would be created with the purpose of being deconstructed when returned to manufacturers (Helen Kopnina, 2018). The technical materials would be reused and their biological parts would increase agricultural value. In addition, if the products were created and transported utilising renewable energy, it would form long-term prosperity. Some companies are already beginning to adopt a circular economy method, however, the system isn’t the matter of one manufacturer changing one product, instead emphasising on all the interconnecting companies which form infrastructure and the economy collaborating. Conclusion In conclusion, it is imperative to undertake upcycling practices to reduce negative impacts on the environment. With more households taking part, it will extend the life of certain materials and reduce the amount of usable and beneficial materials that are currently ending up in landfills. Upcycling also has the potential to reduce money typically spent on purchasing new products (such as furniture) to produce unique and customised items. Finally, the circular economy method is an opportunity to unlock new perspectives, rather than remaining confined in the frustrations of the present. Creativity and innovation may be the way to rethink and redesign the future.
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C H A P T E R F O U R
Inspiration BESPOKE SPOKES
Joe Goldstein created Bespoke Spokes in 2015. Goldstein began out restoring and servicing old bikes that then he claims developed into hoarding habit. Joe took a cycle maintenance course and a course in welding. As he had restored a range of bikes Joe was left with a stockpile of used components that were destined for the scrap heap. This is the point in which he shifted his focus from restoring bikes to utilizing the excess components at hand.
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CYCLED UP CREATION
Kevin Burk, based in Northampton, United Kingdom founded Cycled Up Creations. Burk recycles old unwanted and vintage items and by combining them with modern parts and ideas he can give them a new lease of life. One of Kevin’s creations is the bicycle clamp light shown. This light caught my attention as it utilizes parts of the bike that I hadn’t even thought of using before. It’s a very compact and functional light.
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C H A P T E R F I V E
Moodboard
The purpose of this mood board is to portray and inspire creative decisions within all aspect of the assignment. It displays potential textures, compositions, lighting, styles, and shapes. The final prototype will be heavily inspired by the industrial aesthetics of raw materials with their textures, colors, and characteristics.
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C H A P T E R S I X
Documentaion The process to create my prototype entailed several steps including the disassembly and cleaning of the bike, cutting up the frame, and reassembling the parts I needed before rewiring the light into the frame.
Each step of the process was documented to illustrate the exercise. The images flow from the left page, left to right down the page before moving across to the right page to do the same.
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C H A P T E R S E V E N
Prototype
This prototype of a bedside light was created using a 2008 Specialized Fuse One BMX. I have had the bike for years but no longer have a purpose or use it due to broken parts. A family member recently moved out of home and had a surplus of things that they were going to throw out. The light used was about to be discarded as waste when I saw an opportunity for it. I wanted to leave the frame as raw as possible showing the wear and tear the bike had undergone throughout its use. The frame was cut up into the sections that I wanted to use before being cut again and bent to create the top section of the light frame. Connecting the two sections of the frame was a challenge as the diameters of the frame were different. I would have liked to weld the cut sections of the frame back together but to do this I would have had to sand the paint away to bare metal and I wanted to maintain the bikes original paint. Instead, I chose to use a kneadable epoxy putty and a two-part epoxy glue to bond the pieces of the frame together. I wanted to utilize the factory routing points for what would have been the brakes on the bike as a way of containing and organizing the power cord for the light. For this to be possible I had to disassemble the light socket to expose the raw wire so the wire was thin enough to fit through the brake routing points on the frame before being threaded back down the headtube to the light bulb.
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C H A P T E R E I G H T
Conclusion
Firstly, I want to touch on the singular word that we were asked to use to describe waste from the start of the semester. That word for me is “Obsolete”. The definition of obsolete is “no longer produced or used; out of date” and what I take away from that is that just because something is thrown out if the waste still has the opportunity to be reused or repurposed it isn’t waste. It is only truly waste when it can no longer be used in any context. The way I see the beautification of waste is through the reuse of products or materials by upcycling to give them a new lease of life. Giving the owner a new emotional connection with the product or even maintaining the sentimental value it had in the first place. This is what I believe I was able to achieve through my prototype. The prototype that I created is a bedside or desk lamp formed from my broken unused bike from when I was younger. The design matters as it shows that even though the bike was no longer functional in its primary form it was able to be repurposed and utilized in a different way giving the parts a new lease on life as well as maintaining its sentimental and emotional value giving the prototype design value. I am heavily influenced by the cold, hard raw materials and rough textures created in the industrial style or theme. I believe that this style was reflected well in my design by leaving the rough, dented, scratched, rusty surfaces as they are embracing the characteristics they have rather than sanding and fixing them to a smooth seemingly unused surface.
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References
PROCESS AND OUTCOMES
Helen Kopnina, 2018. ‘Circular economy and Cradle to Cradle in educational practice’. Journal of Integrative Environmental Sciences. Volume 15, 2018 - Issue 1 Pages 119-134 Published online: 15 May 2018. [Online] Available at <https://www. tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1943815X.2018.1471724> (Accessed 3 May 2020). Julian Kirchherr, Marko Hekkert, Ruben Bour, Anne Huibrechtse-Truijens, Erica KostenseSmit, Jennifer Muller October 2017. Breaking the Barriers to the Circular Economy. Utrecht University. Deloitte. [Online] Available at <file:///Users/holliebrodribb/Downloads/breaking_ the_barriers_to_the_circular_economy_white_paper_web.pdf> (Accessed 3 May 2020). Kiley Quinlevan, Kia Thao, Cally Bloch & Rorie Buchanan, 2018. ‘Waste’. Australia. Wordpress. [Online] Available at <https://blogs.nelson.wisc.edu/es112-302-3/waste/> (Accessed 3 May 2020). PBL, 2019. ‘Opportunities for a circular economy’. Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. [Online] Available at <https://themasites.pbl.nl/circular-economy/> (Accessed 3 May 2020). Rick LeBlanc, 2019. ‘The Decomposition of Waste in Landfills’. A Story of Time and Materials.Sustainable Businesses. [Online] Available at <https://www.thebalancesmb.com/ how-long-does-it-take-garbage-to-decompose-2878033> (Accessed 3 May 2020). Zoe Ken, 2018. ‘What is the definition of a circular economy?’. [Online] Available at <https://kenniskaarten.hetgroenebrein.nl/en/knowledge-map-circular-economy/what-is-thedefinition-a-circular-economy/> (Accessed 3 May 2020). Korhonen, Nuur, Feldmann & Birkie, 2018. ‘Circular economy as an essentially contested concept’. Journal of Cleaner Production. Volume 175, 20 February 2018, Pages 544-552. Available at <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/ S0959652617330706>(Accessed 3 May 2020). 26
INSPIRATION
Wastification
Gilbert de Rooij, 2013. ‘400 upcycle designers showing sustainable ideas’. upcyleDZINE. [online] Available at <https://www.upcycledzine.com/400-upcycle-designers-showingsustainable-ideas/> (Accessed 3rd April 2020). https://www.upcycledzine.com/bicycle-parts-desk-lamp-by-bespoke-spokes/ https://www.etsy.com/shop/BespokeSpokes?ref=l2-shopheader-name https://www.upcycledzine.com/bicycle-clamp-light-by-cycled-up-creations/ https://www.facebook.com/cycledupcreations/about/?ref=page_internal
MOODBOARD
https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/95420085839931308/ https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/602004675175578506/ https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/315252042661382262/ https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/379850549821366353/ https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/207376757821922842/ https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/414120128238435038/ https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/617345061410516073/ https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/379850549821366353/ https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/677017756463662297/ https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/391391023866283905/
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BEN CANHAM s3712929