Another beautiful way to recycle

Another beautiful way to recycle - collecting glass bottles to be crushed on-site and then combined with a vegetable bio-resin binder. The result is strong and weatherproof products - bollards, street furniture, tiles and lights.

source

Diana Simpson Hernandez, a Mexican London based designer, is behind the idea of the first Waste lab initiative - the Glass lab.

Clever recycling for better living

Recycling is one of the major trends in design and characteristic of our lives today. But it is important how do we recycle - is it worth the efforts, are the results good enough?  One great example of efficient and really useful way of recycling is what RubberRecyle are doing with their rubber mulch product - in an effort to preserve the environment, Rubberecycle manufactures a unique rubber granule product recycled from 100% scrap tires.
We can't just throw a tire away and we don't want them in land fills.And we all do our best to secure safe conditions for living and play for our children. But did you know that 90% of playground structures are considered unsafe? And it's largely due to inadequate and poor surfaces.This where Playsafer™ Rubber Mulch is most useful - available in a variety of vibrant colors, it cushions falls and minimizes dangerous playground impacts. It is safe, economical, long-lasting, loved by children and their parents and most importantly, environment-friendly - Playground Mulch tire chips conform to all CPSC safety guidelines and has earned ADA approval, making playgrounds safe for our children while preserving the environment. It is claimed to be the safest playground surfacing and is guaranteed to last a lifetime!
This is definitely a clever way of recycling that is worth the efforts and makes our life better. And it is obviously considered a good choice for the White House playground, too - have a look:

Rubber Mulch Playground at the White House

Designer approach to recycling

Photo by Sean Fennessy.

As my regular readers already know, I am Fascinated with glass, its beauty and enormous range of colours, forms and applications, but what I even more like about it is the possibility to be recycled. And one great example of clever designer approach to recycling glass is what Melbourne based glass artist  Ruth Allen is doing and her  Sustainable Stubbies! Functional vessels created from repurposed bottles, beautiful lighting. Enjoy:

Look at her Champagne pendant from the new Sustainable Stubbies LIGHT range:
Aren't they beautiful?

Photo by Sean Fennessy

"The bottles are taken through a hot process that strengthens the product by nature of ‘annealing’, resulting in a vessel that can withstand hot liquid, a dishwasher and the test of time." source
I think that this is one of the best ways to  recycle glass and a great example of sustainability in action.

Top Design Trends of 2009

Happy New Year! It is time to have a look at the trends in interior design for 2009. As a result of my research and observations I have collected a list of major trends and inspirations that will have influence in the beginning year. Recession forced many people to readjust their values and will put consumers in a more powerful position.

• a focus on quality craftsmanship and eco consciousness: it is not enough today to say for a product that it is Green - consumers demand proof that the process and the final product truly are Green, sustainable and meet with Fair Trade standards



• the trend towards innovation and creativity will grow



• handmade objects by artisans or by ourselves!



• recycled goods - reclaim, recycle and rediscover



• removing the clutter of over-design to focus on life



• allowable luxuries



• paint - major impact without major investment



• eggplant, wine, burgundy, plum, beet, raisin and raspberry colors have flooded the catwalks, but as we know that fashion and interior design have a lot in common, so the berries colors are expected to be reigning in our homes, too
  
  
• lots and lots of bright vivid yellow to give us energy - the standout accent color for 2009. Pantone touts “mimosa,” a vibrant shade of yellow illustrated by the flowers of some mimosa trees as its top shade of the new year.



• ‘Redesign is hot, hot, hot’ (you can read more on Re-design in my site)
  
  
  The interior here from ELLE DECOR seems to combine many of the above trends in the most elegant way.

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Denim Afterlife - RECYCLED DENIM CHALLENGE

Last year I wrote about the DENIM EVERYWHERE Trend - it is still the order of the day and probably will continue to be. But what we do with our favorite denim after its expiration date? Ecouterre recently publuished  7 Unexpected Ways To Recycle Old Denim Jeans.

Do you have an idea how to incarnate your favorite jeans into a new garment or accessory that can offer them a second lease of life? To help kick off Gap’s nationwide denim recycling drive, Inhabitat have partnered with the Gap 1969 Style Stream to source out the most creative denim reinventions on the planet. If you’ve wrangled an old pair of jeans into a dress, a piece of jewelry, or a conversation-starting handbag, enter the RECYCLED DENIM CHALLENGE and send your photos by 11:59 p.m. ET on October 20, 2010 for a chance to be featured on Inhabitat, Ecouterre, and the Gap 1969 Stream, and a chance to win a $200 Gap gift certificate!

Is upcycling or recycling always worth our time?

"An exhibition that took place this month as part of the Designers’ Open festival in German city Leipzig showcased the possibilities of upcycling, which is recycling’s even more sustainable little sister – the act of converting old clothing, materials and furniture into new things, without the need to destroy it and completely restructure it in the process, as recycling requires." (designweek.co.uk)

source: designweek.co.uk

Well, some of the products may be great, but do we consider the cost of our labour when doing this upcycling? Can you imagine how much time is required to collect and then connect those cork pieces into just one piece of furniture? The table is great, but the armchair to the right is hardly comfortable for use.
On the other hand, I like very much the elegant line of those honeycomb cardboard furniture pieces by German designer Björn Bernt that for sure have been created for less time, but I am not sure how safe it is to use the chairs:

designer Björn Bernt

I have a lot of posts about the way we recycle and re-use materials and products, and you can find many beautiful examples there, but we must ask ourselves: are the results of recycling and upcycling always worth our time? Will they last enough in order to invest our time in creating something not so beautiful or useful? Isn’t it better to change this “fast fashion” trend into a better and more thoughtful design trend?
What do you think?