After recently travelling to Germany I have been able to witness the recycling efforts first hand. On most street corners there are large recycling deposits for aluminium, glass and plastics. At every train station you find four different bins suited to general waste, metals, plastics and glass. It is evident that this system is extremely successful not only as near all German people religiously recycle but to the clean and rubbish free nature of their cities.
Although recycling may seem to be the answer, I think there are other ways we can aid our environment.
The question as a designer is how can we design solutions to be better suited to a reusable process rather than a recycling process. It is most important to understand the means in which specific materials can be recycled and processed to be re-created into a new product, but, it is even more important to be educated on the resources and energy required to undertake this recycling process. If a solution can be designed to cater to not only its primary function but to be re-used to perform a secondary function, success has been achieved.
"To eliminate the concept of waste means to design things... products, packaging, and systems... from the very beginning on the understanding that waste does not exist." M. Braungart W.McDonough Cradle to Cradle
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