MIAD BRIDGE: UPCYCLE by Becca Maynard

MIAD BRIDGE

UPCYCLE features

Transform old into new!

discovery world action plan

upcycling evolves from recycling

the problem with pallets

e m o c l We

but azine

there

are

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en.wikipedia.org

Need some rustic decoration in your home? Swing by your local store to pick up this tin trio!

S AV E

f f o % 20 , January S a t u rd ay

15th

E S A H C R U P ENTIRE In c lu d in g

s s a le it e m

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UPCYCLE

E L B A T 02

Welcome Letter from the editor

DEPARTMENTS

10 4

Illumination Inspiration department

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Blogger, September Four Interview department

Boot Planters How To department

contents ARTICLES

“Action Plan” Featured article

“Problem with Pallets” Featured article

“Upcycling Evolves From Recycling” Featured article

Upcycling Evolves From Recycling By BETH GARDINER illustration by Cecilia Palacios LONDON — Windproof jackets

or other fabric as garbage, com-

cut greenhouse gas emissions

sewn from pieces of an old hot air

panies should look at them as a

and reduce landfill. Wasting less

balloon, bags made from airplane

resource to be mined, said Jamie

also improves profit, they say.

seat covers and totes fashioned

Burdett, a co-owner of Worn

The American designer William

from mail carriers’ retired rain

Again, the London company

McDonough and a German chem-

jackets. A London company is

behind the bags made from Royal

ist, Michael Braungart, helped to

turning cast-off textiles into new

Mail jackets and Virgin

shape the philosophy with their

products, part of a trend called

Group balloons.

2002 book “Cradle to Cradle,”

upcycling which, its advocates say,

“It’s trying to change that

offers big environmental benefits.

mind-set, so that people move

loop of resource reuse, in which

from a disposable mind-set into a

all products are designed to be

which materials like plastic and

constant reuse mind-set,” he said.

eventually dismantled, and their

paper are gradually degraded and

This is part of a broader effort to

component parts either reused

can be reused only a limited num-

reduce waste by planning for a

or composted.

ber of times, upcycling turns waste

product’s potential recycling or

into products of greater value.

reuse at the end of its life before

facturers and consumers to shift

That offers hope for achieving the

it is even made, a process known

from an attitude of “it’s going to

biggest goal of environmentally

as “designing out waste.” A small

landfill, I don’t have to think of

minded design, using materials

but growing number of companies

it,” to “I really want to get those

again and again to keep them out

have begun thinking this way, and

materials back because they’re

of landfills. Supporters call it

they say it is essential for wealthy

valuable,” said Bridgett Luther,

“closing the loop.”

consumption-based societies that

president of the Cradle to Cra-

must begin to conserve resources,

dle Products Innovation Institute

Unlike traditional recycling, in

Instead of seeing old uniforms 6

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which envisioned an endless

The challenge is to get manu-

in San Francisco, which Mr. McDonough and Dr. Braungart established to train consultants to help

tal impact to zero by 2020. The

companies put their idea i

company, based in Atlanta, takes

nto practice.

carpet tiles back when customers

The process starts with re-

are through with them and either

The company gets employ-

moving harmful chemicals, so

reuses components like backing

ees involved in reducing waste,

that materials can be salvaged or

or recycles the material into new

sometimes by offering them

returned to nature without fear of

product, said Lindsey K. Parnell,

bonuses. “Once you mobilize the

leaching toxins. With the backing

president for European and Middle

entire work force, you get these

of the California governor, Arnold

Eastern operations of the com-

hundreds of thousands of little im-

Schwarzenegger, the institute is

pany’s modular flooring division,

provements that add up to some-

helping to implement a 2008 Cali-

InterfaceFLOR.

thing significant,” he said.

fornia law aiming to phase hazardous chemicals out of products. Mr. Schwarzenegger has called for the establishment of a cradle-to-cradle economy by 2050. “It’s starting to enter the mainstream,” said Ms. Luther, a former director of the California Department of Conservation. “We have lots of people calling us and

Among other innovations, an ultrasonic cutting machine and a

“a bigger cultural and economic shift is needed, away from relentless consumption.”

Tackling waste is good business, Mr. Parnell said. While cutting the amount of waste it sent to landfills by 80 percent and its greenhouse gas emissions by 44 percent, the company, which grosses about $1 billion a year, has saved $433 million since 1996, he said. Such thinking has gained ground in the business world, but

saying ‘I want to do this.”’ special sensor to prevent creasing

while many companies want to

manufacturer, is working toward

have reduced the amount of car-

operate more sustainably, they

closing its resource loop as part of

pet wasted during production, Mr.

often do not know how, said Gail

an effort to bring its environmen-

Parnell added.

Whiteman, professor of sustain-

Interface, a commercial carpet

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trial metals, oil, and thousands of different chemicals. ability and climate change at the

For example, Ms. Luther, of the

Rotterdam School of Management.

Cradle to Cradle institute said, “we

Setting targets for managers to re-

should never be mining aluminum,

duce waste and energy use could

because there’s enough aluminum

make a big difference, she said. “I

in the world if we just get it back.”

see a fundamentally, tremendously

Reducing packaging also helps. In

large shift since the 1980s,” she

Britain, supermarkets and sup-

said, adding that preventing waste

pliers working voluntarily with

is no longer “seen as a weird thing

WRAP, a government-financed

or a niche thing.”

body, have eliminated 520,000

“The point is, we have to try

tons of material since 2006, said

because it’s not like we really have

Andy Dawe, WRAP’s head of retail

another alternative. How long can

programs. Bottles, for example,

we run on empty” before resourc-

have been redesigned to use less

es run out, she asked. “Probably

glass, and, by giving customers

another 10, 15 years, but some of

incentives like loyalty card points

the minerals and metals will be

to reuse bags, the sector has cut

gone by that time,” and landfill

plastic shopping bag use by 41

crunches will be acute.

percent since 2006.

More important, environmen-

Environmentalists say a big-

talists argue, are the greenhouse

ger cultural and economic shift

gases created by producing and

is needed, away from relentless

transporting even more plentiful

consumption and shopping to a

raw materials, like cotton, indus-

less resource-depleting approach.

“To say this has to change, it’s destroying our planet, it’s destroying the lifestyles of our grandchildren, in a lot of the world and in America especially, that’s hitting at people’s core beliefs” about their way of life, said Angus Middleton, of Renaissance Regeneration, a British environmental consulting firm. But, Ms. Luther says, this shift can be achieved without reducing prosperity. If materials were reused endlessly and toxins eliminated, economic growth could contribute to the environment, instead of damaging it. “If everything that was going into the ocean was food for fish” instead of dangerous pollution, and “if everything that went into the landfill was a big compost pile, think how amazing that would be,” she said. “If you’re growing in the right way, you’re adding to the earth.” 9

inspiration

i l l u m inat i o n Another great way to lighten up a space. A couple universal items laying around the house could turn into a simple, indoor or outdoor piece. Only four items to create an inviting, illuminating feature.

materials Mason jar Wire Rocks or sand Tealight

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all yarn ALL BRANDS

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by dick mccarrick I’m talking about none other than

The number of pallets out there

of publicity these days, starring in

Dr. Suess’s Lorax is getting a lot

the humble, lowly shipping pallet.

is truly staggering. Nearly 2 billion

his own feature movie. The crea-

Pallet primer

wooden pallets are currently in

ture “speaks for the trees” and his

Shipping pallets, also known as

life’s goal is to get people to stop

skids, are the sorts of things most

a majority of them replaced each

cutting them down. His message

people don’t often think about —

year. This consumes an estimat-

is pretty simple — and some may

but once you do, you start seeing

ed 50 percent of the country’s

argue, overly simplistic — but it

them everywhere, especially in

annual hardwood harvest. This in

appears to be resonating with au-

places where goods are shipped,

turn represents a very significant

diences, if the film’s apparent wide-

stored, and sold. (Trust me, if you

market for the lumber industry

spread success is any indication.

have a typical commute through

($6 billion in annual sales if you

an urban/suburban landscape

can believe it), especially when

what the Lorax and his many fans

you’ll probably see dozens on your

one considers that roughly half of

might make of the fact that one

way home this evening.) Basically,

these pallets are intended to be

One might therefore wonder

circulation in the US alone, with

single application consumes as much hardwood in the US annually as all others combined. Further, this application is frequently de-

“Wooden pallets currently account for 50% of the company’s total global use of pine and spruce.”

signed to use this wood only once and then discard it, in a way that limits the possibility of recycling —

they’re designed to protect loads

used only once and then discard-

despite the fact that more durable

in shipment and help make them

ed. And since the pallets tend to

and reusable substitutes can be

more easily handled, stacked, and

be full of difficult-to-remove nails,

readily found. And yet, this appli-

moved. The majority of these pal-

a percentage of these single-use

cation scarcely ever seems to reg-

lets (an estimated 95 percent) are

pallets often end up in landfills.

ister on the environmental radar.

made of wood.

These facts have led some 13

built furniture from boards I’ve appear to indicate that pallets

reclaimed from old pallets. In the

comprise an exceedingly inef-

process, I’ve acquired a surprising-

ficient use of wood resources. environmental groups to label

ly broad array of species, including

However, the actual situation may

wooden pallets as a major waste

oak, cherry, maple, poplar, and

be a little more complicated. (Is it

of resources and to call for their

even a couple of boards of what

ever any other way when envi-

replacement with more ecological-

I think might have been chestnut.

ronmental issues are concerned?)

ly friendly alternatives. And some

However, although it had plenty

For instance, it’s true that pallets

in industry appear to be doing

of rustic character, nearly all the

consume a lot of wood. But much

just that. For instance, IKEA, the

lumber I obtained consisted of

of this consists of relatively low-

world’s largest provider of home

cuts from branches or other less-

grade cuts from parts of the tree

furnishings, recently announced

choice areas of the tree. So who-

that have little or no other com-

plans to phase out corporate use

ever made these pallets obviously

mercial value. Thus pallets offer a

of wooden pallets and replace

didn’t waste any furniture-grade

way for the forestry and lumber

them with recyclable paper pallets.

timber on them.)

industries — which have been

Among the reasons cited is the

especially hard hit by the recent

fact that wooden pallets current-

growing trend towards pallet

recession — to derive revenue

ly account for 50 percent of the

recycling. For example, a rela-

from timber byproduct that might

company’s total global use of pine

tively new technology has been

otherwise be simply discarded.

and spruce. On the other hand…

developed that promises to make

(As an amateur woodworker, I

the removal of nails from a pal-

can personally vouch for this. I’ve

let — which up to now has been a

At face value, these numbers 14

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There also appears to be a

major recycling challenge — much faster and easier. This could help drive the production of wood fiber created by grinding up old pallets; this wood fiber can then be used

growing more abundant in the US,

in products such as fuel pellets,

especially in the east where the

building materials, mulch, insula-

forests continue their century-long

tion, and many others. One recent

recovery from the agriculturally

survey claims that 73 percent of all

led deforestation of the 1800s. For

wooden pallets are now recycled,

instance, it’s estimated that the

an example of how environmental

a rate that exceeds the recycling

standing timber volume per acre

awareness doesn’t consist solely

of aluminum, paper, and plastic.

in US forests has grown 30 per-

of considering and debating glob-

Another report estimates that only

cent since 1952.

al, high-profile subjects; one also

3 percent of wooden pallets now

Pallets may not be the most

end up in landfills, and when they

scintillating of dinnertime con-

more local issues that may not re-

do, they obligingly biodegrade.

versation topics, but given their

ceive a great deal of media notice.

Further, it should be point-

ubiquity — along with their associ-

After all, such a discussion just

ed out that whatever their other

ated environmental issues cited in

might provide our friend the Lorax

shortcomings, wooden pallets do

this article — they probably merit

a significantly larger constituency

make use of a renewable resource,

more public attention and discus-

for whom to speak.

one of the few that (at least as of

sion than they currently receive.

Dick McCarrick is an analyst with

this writing) actually appears to be

At a minimum, they can serve as

Foresight Science & Technology.

needs to take into account smaller,

interview

september four blogger: diy decor on a budget

How would you describe your life in a brief sentence or two? My life is hectic and fun with three kids and a full time job!

Why do you blog? At my core, I’m a creative person and I love sharing that with the world. There are people who need inspiration to see how easy it is to decorate their homes on a budget.

ago and started writing whatever

things was only natural. And I fell

came into my head. After awhile, I

in love with making things that

focused on DIY and home decor.

were once ugly or uninspired into

Why DIY?

something beautiful.

For a few years I was a stay-at-

How do you stay inspired?

home mom with a limited budget

Reading other blogs and inter-

and the desire to make our rental

acting with likeminded people

house into a warm space that

inspires me. Pinterest is also chock

my husband and kids would love

full of inspiration.

coming home to. I wanted a space

round themselves with beauty.

a person. I admit that HGTV probably fueled this desire, but I need-

Do you blog with a specific person in mind? Moms, small budget, students etc. Why? Why not?

How did you start blogging?

ed to do it in a way that didn’t

Definitely! I’m trying to reach the

I got a free blogger account years

spend a ton of money. So DIYing

woman who rents, who wants

I want to inspire women to sur-

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I was proud of and reflected me as

to make her space beautiful but may be short on time and money. I want to reach the person who thinks she can’t decorate because it’s too expensive or who doesn’t know where to begin. I have a ton of blog posts on how to start decorating a room and the steps it takes to get a home you’ll love.

What does upcycling and DIY mean to you? Taking something and giving it new life. Turning something that was bound for the curb into something that you cherish.

Do you personally upcycle or DIY decorate in your own home? Yes! I’ve turned bottles into faux pottery, I’ve painted watch boxes and turned it into a cute storage container. I’ve made wall hangings and art from things lying around my home. It gets me so excited!

people who want to decorate on a budget? Start with inspiration. Envision what it is you want and put it together piece by piece. You won’t get the home you want overnight. It’s a process. Be patient and intentional about your choices and it will all come together!

What’s your favorite way to upcycle? I love paint and spray paint. It’s amazing how paint can transform almost anything.

What advice would you give to

occupied during my time. Kohl’s mission with this lab-studio is

Discovery World Action Plan

to inspire interest in design and

continue to exist in their homes as

By Trevor Tagge

creativity, and promote critical and

(hopefully) perpetual reminders

inventive thinking. They do a good

of creative practice and problem

I volunteered at Discovery

job at this; I have seen that the

solving. I really, really appreciate

World’s Kohl’s Design It! Lab this

lab is capable of engaging almost

this idea. People come to Discov-

semester, completing a total of

any kind of person, young and

ery World on a day off, for some-

twenty-nine hours. My job at the

old. It is a healthy and wonderful

thing to do and see, and leaving

lab was to host guests: showing

environment devoted to positive

with a souvenir really helps bridge

them what crafts they could build,

and sincere ideals. Their motto is

the experience of the institution

how to build them, delivering the

“Dream it. Build it. Take it home.”

to the every day routine- a very

materials and assisting with any

Reflecting an emphasis to affect

tangible link to the community.

problems or questions they had.

the individual after they leave

It’s also an incentive for people

The work was straightforward and

discovery world- that the objects

to sign up for the weekend work-

very hands-on, keeping me very

they dream, design, and build

shop specials, to build a relation-

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about frequently this semester. Getting to meet and talk to ship with the lab. The marked

people at the lab was the most

presence of volunteers, with their

important part of volunteering for

while volunteering. From loud,

neon-green volunteer shirts, adds

me. Teaching the crafts and to kids

demanding children to hawkish

to this environment. When people

and adults requires good commu-

scowling parents with low-blood

come in they feel welcomed to a

nication skills, something I got to

sugar, there were many inevitable

“lab” setting where there are peers

improve on significantly. It takes

incidents of rude or bad behavior.

and collaborators. I think this is

finesse to be encouraging without

This is fine though; it is nothing

important; there is no give-andtake consumerist expectation. No monetary transactions here. The guest’s needs and skills are addressed in a “we” manner, “We can

new, unpleasant encounters with

“Convenience is a hell of a drug, and it has lead to a noticeable mindset in my peers.”

try this, we can learn that, we can

strangers are a fact of life. It is the positive experiences that will no doubt be memorable, leaving the others to fade away. One story of a positive experience with people

show you how to…” This taps into

being overbearing. Communi-

is the afternoon, from two to four,

group dynamics and how people

cating with and handling guests

that I spent at the counter helping

interact, something I have thought

is the only time I felt frustration

three inner-city girls make plas-

tic bottle vases. This stands out

life outside of school. I dwelt on

questions, concepts and dilemmas

because it was very casual, unex-

the implications and existence of

were hard to reflect on because I

pected. The little girls that come

the different “tribes” that exist in

don’t consider myself having much

in are usually more inclined to talk

my life, and the ways I compart-

experience or power, much less a

to female volunteers, but because

mentalize and act on things. This

formal background. It made me

I was quick to supply pink ribbon

alone had a profound impact on

inadvertently self-conscious: what

for their plastic bottle vases we hit

my thinking. It gave me the under-

can a twenty-one year-old art stu-

it off right away. Giving them ad-

standing and comfort to converse

dent do to improve civic-trust, so-

vice and watching them construct

with people I normally would not

cial cohesion, who am I to remark

the vases was fun- I was genuinely

have. It gave me the confidence to

on the regulation of free markets

invested in helping them make

say whatever; we’re the same, to

or international intervention? I

what I thought were good looking,

actively classify other people as

know this paralysis is typical, but

fun sculptures. It was so nice to

my peers, friends and brethren. It

its implications certainly hindered

make some art with kids, outside

made me far less likely to judge or

my interaction with Judts writing.

of school, in a setting where the

label other people, and to try and

This conflict has been something

context and purpose and process

engage with them on an equal lev-

I’ve struggled with all year, and

was so different and invigorating.

el. I have been open to ideas and

is part of an overlying crisis of

I never found out why the three

presentations I would previously

meaning and identity I’ve been in.

girls were there for so long, where

not have; in our discussion on gun

The ideas of politics and policy as

their mother had been, but I’ll bet

control, I found myself agreeing

elaborated on in Ill Fares the Land

they enjoyed the afternoon too- I

with Sean’s gun-education and

is something I can say will take

could only hope it was a good

legalization statements despite my

a longer time to grow into and

respite. Additionally, sequins and

extreme distaste and zero-toler-

fully understand. I believe in the

Elmer’s Glue are the devils bane

ance for weapons.

panoramic vision Judt has painted,

of craft materials, once combined

The tangible effect of Hiedts

I believe in the common good and

and left to dry they become a

words is different from Judt’s Ill

public assets; but other than the

satanic mess to clean off of table

Fares the Land. I had a harder

straw-men used in political rhet-

surfaces. That was a problem.

time connecting with Judt’s text

oric and astronomical dolts, who

despite finding it no less agree-

doesn’t, really? Elizabeth Warren

that most influenced my perspec-

able and interesting. I believe this

really hit the nail on the head with

tive on volunteering this semester

was because the things Heidt

her social contract quote; I don’t

was the Bill Moyers interview with

discussed were easy to assimilate

believe anyone could contest that

Jonathan Heidt about The Righ-

into my routine thought- like the

too much.

teous Mind. I found his approach

Zen concept of living by “thought-

And so, for my action plan

and articulation through neurolog-

fulness”; Heidt’s articulation of the

for Kohl’s Design It! Lab, I chose

ical terms very appealing and re-

righteous mind had very imme-

something I believe was straight-

latable. This text definitely spilled

diate connections to daily life. In

forward and holistic in purpose.

over into my studio time as well as

Ill Fares the Land, many of the

Because of the design and inno-

“

The text we read this semester

The recent exploitation of “green” and “Eco-friendly” as potent marketing ideas has diluted the meaning behind D.I.Y...

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vation theme espoused by the

realm of decoration and “making

pushed into them, like the cores

lab, the idea of Do It Yourself, or

things to make them”. Craft items

of fake floral bouquets. Then,

D.I.Y, is referred to regularly. This

like the laser-cut chandelier, while

using various pulverized plastic or

is one of my favorite topics, and

accessible and good for small

other industrial scraps from ma-

something I take seriously. Grow-

children to decorate, will not live a

ing up in suburbia, the idea that if

long or potent life.

something breaks, you toss it and

In reaction I proposed my idea

“Things are mindlessly, instantly consumed.”

buy another is familiar: just take a

of a design object that fulfills mul-

walk down one of the allies to see

tiple roles. First, that it would be

the extent of it. From clothes to

heavily resourced from recycled

electronics to materials, not much

materials. Second, that it would

chine shops (metal shavings look

is repaired or repurposed because

reinvent something common,

beautiful when arranged into a

there is no pressure. Things are

something established and taken

texture) the continental plates can

mindlessly, instantly consumed.

for granted in a way, and third,

be decorated to taste. I believe the

Convenience is a hell of a drug,

that it engaged multiple modes

end result of this process would be

and it has lead to a noticeable

of construction.

a visually and mentally stimulating

mindset in my peers. If clothes

The Dymaxion Fuller globe-

global map. While it might not be

fall into disrepair they are thrown

map has some very peculiar and

the fastest craft, it is straightfor-

away rather than mended. This has

great qualities: it can transitional

ward and exercises many different

fueled the throwaway purchasing

easily from a two-dimensional

aspects of creation. The materials

habits of consumers- heritage and

map into a globe, or polyhedron,

would be screened for hazardous

quality is less of a priority than

and in doing so, change our spa-

toxic, sharp or choking dangers,

keeping up with aesthetic trends.

tial understanding of everything.

and could be acquired from any

The recent exploitation of “green”

Literally, the Dymaxion Fuller map

machine shop or a scrap service

and “Eco-friendly” as potent mar-

reinvented our world-view. I want

like Mill Valley Recycling, locat-

keting ideas has diluted the mean-

to say this is relevant both to the

ed not far from both school and

ing behind D.I.Y. in my opinion.

children who see the established

discovery world. This project also

A great anecdote is the recycled

but often criticized Mercator Map

could be combined with other

paper speakers that are available

every day in school, and to the

craft components like the D.I.Y

for purchase at “trendy” clothes

adults who thought they had an

clock or lamp.

retailers: they exploit the word

okay understanding of global ge-

“D.I.Y” and “recycled” for packag-

ography, but probably don’t.

ing purposes, to sell a consumable

Ideally my Dymaxion map

object that will break quickly and

cutout would be printed on thicker

be thrown away soon after. It’s a

recycled paper like cereal boxes,

Trojan horse!

and when constructed into the

At the lab, a majority of the

icosahedron globe would be light

craft menu has to cater to a broad

and sturdy, ideal to hang with a

spectrum of age, which it does

simple string. The more elaborate

well. However I do lament that a

component of this craft, and the

lot of things made will be thrown

next step, would be to attach to

away- they are not up to our

the globe Styrofoam plates that

standards of value, probably only

have been laser-cut in the shape

escaping destruction because of

of the continents. These plates

sentiment. I feel like this reinforces

can be from the information of

the idea that D.I.Y and inventive-

my Adobe Illustrator file. The

ness can only exist in the limited

Styrofoam could have objects 21

HOW TO

planters IN 3 EASY STEPS

Obtain a pair of boots you will never wear again.

Drill a few holes in the bottom of each sole for water drainage.

Fill boots with soil and plant

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ISSN 2884-5962

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