Forward Thinking

Making an art out of recycling.

These are a few fine examples of redesigning, or taking a resource which is typically used once and then considered rubbish, and using it to make something new, unique, beautiful and desirable. Essentially eliminating the concept of waste and looking at the materials used in a way that has a broader scope to envision as many life cycles as possible. I hope to see more of this trend emerging and to see more and more people being inspired by this concept.

 

 

These recycled rubber band bracelet, made by Christiane Diehl are more interesting, creative and beautiful than I'd previously imagined that rubber bands could be.

[Source: ecofriend.org ]

Little Fly, a.k.a Jeremy Mays makes gorgeous one-off jewellery pieces out of old books.

http://littlefly.co.uk/

[Source: ecouterre.com/ ]

These funky bracelets are made by a crew from Brooklyn call Wrecord. They're made from recycled vinyl records that are donated by DJ's, and 10% of the proceeds are donated to local schools. The artists get a fair cut of the deal and everyone is happy.
[Source: keetsa.com ]

One Laptop Per Child

One laptop per child is an initiative to provide laptops to children in remote communities where they may not have electricity, education or even adequate food. The laptops are rugged; they're waterproof, dustproof - virtually unbreakable, wifi enabled, and can be powered winding them up. Founder, Nicholas Negroponte set up the scheme as a humanitarian project to enable poor children around the world to access information, initiate their own learning and not get left behind by the rest of the world. Imagine not having the internets..




http://laptop.org/en/

The concept of redesigning- redesigning industry, what we make, how we make it and how we can eliminate waste by designing things in a way that they can be broken down into their component parts and reused- is one that is being adopted by progressive, intelligent designers around the world, and will make a significant difference to the impact that we have on the planet and the way that we view "stuff"

Haul are a local company making stylish and cool bags, laptop cases, wallets, photo albums and assorted items out of recycled materials that would ordinarily become landfill such as billboard sails, truck innertubes, and number plates.

                                        

                                        

                                        


                                                         http://www.haul.com.au/

                             

Could luminous trees replace street lights?
Scientists in Taiwan researching into ways to create high efficiency lighting simillar to LED, though without using costly and toxic phosphorous accidentally discovered an ingenious potential alternative.
Dr. Yen-Hsun Wu found that when gold nanoparticles where implanted into the leaves of the Bacopa caroliniana plants, they were able to induce the chlorophyll in the leaves to produce a red emission. This bio-LED could sigificantly reduce electricity consumption, phosphorus and light pollution and make our streets look magical and enchanting..

Read more: Gold Nanoparticles Could Transform Trees Into Street Lights | Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World

http://inhabitat.com/gold-nanoparticles-could-transform-trees-into-street-lights/

To my delight, whilst walking home from work through the Melbourne CBD, I discovered this planting installation outside a major shopping centre.  From recycled cardboard and news paper, the mysterious horticultural propagandists fashioned a honeycomb-like structure in which were placed small plants and seedlings for people to take and plant in a bid to inspire the greening of the world. In coke bottles and chip packets were a number of other plants placed with the message "When you're planting, everything looks like a vase". Niice.
Go forth and propagate!!

The VPRO Backlight series of "future affairs" documentaries are an incisive collection of reports on the key social, political, economic, technological and other important issues shaping our times. Well researched, produced and well worth checking out. Excellent cerebral fertilizer.

http://tegenlicht.vpro.nl/backlight.html?currentPage=2

                                       

In a progressive move by the Melbourne City Council, a bike share system has been installed in the Melbourne CBD enabling people to pick up and drop off bikes to and from around 50 locations. It's suprisingly reasonably priced- you pay $2.50 per day, $8.00 per week, or $50 per year to have unlimited access to a bike 24hrs a day.
There is a deal running at participating 7/11 stores where you can buy a helmet for $5 and either keep it or return it and get a $3 refund.

http://www.melbournebikeshare.com.au/

In a tiny laneway near the corner of Swanston and Bourke streets, smack-bang in the middle of the city some anonymous peoples have created this mini-urban garden. Suspended nasturtium plants growing in recycled cardboard bases adorn and enliven this grimy alley and are an inspirational example of the kind of actions that will see us transform the current mess that we are living in to a sustainable future. May many others take their lead, get creative and find ways to make life beautiful.