Circular Design and Conscious Consumerism can solve the Garbage Crisis
The garbage crisis is far reaching and across the globe headlines are touting the importance of eliminating single use plastics. While the debate about what to do about plastics ensues in the public domain, we are designing out the concept of single use products, the concept of waste, period. In addition to thinking about the downstream impact from a plastic water bottle tossed into the bin, ponder the chair you’re sitting on, the kitchen table in your home, the armoire that stores your clothes. Where will those items go once you are done using them? The answer: most often to the landfill or the incinerator. The reason being, the materials used and the design practically guarantee only one life (user-) cycle. Materials glued together for eternity in MDF and particle board are unable to be recycled. That’s true for most of the furniture available today – it is not recyclable and therefore just another item for the landfill or incinerator.
Human ingenuity coupled with the emerging trend of conscious consumerism will enable us to re-design our way out of a health and environmental disaster that grows worse with every passing day. Demand for circular materials for construction and furnishing is rapidly growing, however there are only a few scalable alternatives for panels. As we build capability to effectively transform trash into desirable new products and materials, without compromising on design, quality or performance we give new life to a material and a new way of design.
“Panels have been on the redesign hit list of Niaga since the start, as one of the top 10 landfill waste items. Together with ECOR we believe to have found a commercially scalable alternative, using waste as input material and allowing for full recyclability into new panels.” says Kelly Hall Managing Director of DSM-Niaga
ECOR & DSM-Niaga partnership
We are constantly looking for material partners who share our design philosophy and our quest for transparency in ingredients. In late 2017, we announced the collaboration between ECOR and Niaga, to research viable, circular panel materials. From our factory in Venlo, we recently delivered the first truckload of panels for distribution to a selected group of early partners, known as the Makers Community.
“Being part of this community of makers is uplifting, both in practice and in spirit. They show the design potential of our material beyond my imagination.” says Eric Logtens Corporate Director Circular Economy & CEO ECOR Europe.
The new Ecor factory, an old industrial building in Venlo, The Netherlands. On the left the first two panel presses.