Zero Waste Studio Turns Plastic Trash Into Urban Furniture

Millions of plastic materials end up in our oceans and land every year, resulting in the death of many fish and other marine life. With that in mind, a studio based in The Netherlands started using 3D printing in order to turn useless plastic garbage into highly aesthetic furniture. From public benches to dinner tables, plastic is repurposed in order to show people the importance of recycling.

Bright Side supports this endeavor and would like to congratulate this group on their wonderful creations.

The Pots Plus collection uses a city’s plastic waste to create outdoor furniture.

Panos Sakkas and Foteini Setaki are the 2 innovative architects that founded The New Raw back in 2015 in Rotterdam in The Netherlands. Their main goal is to raise awareness about recycling and show people how their recycled milk bottles and plastic wrappers can be turned into something that could end up in their living room.

Using 3D robotic printing and a lot of research, the studio partners up with cities and municipalities that want to improve their outdoor aesthetic while putting their recycled materials to use. The results are always very futuristic and fully functioning.

The benches from the Pots Plus collection usually include integrated planters, bicycle racks, and even mini-gyms and bookcases. They can also feature water bowls for your pets and metal bars to tie their leashes to.

Basically, their purpose is to make everyone feel at home, offering them a nice lounge chair where they can relax and read a book while enjoying the shade from a tree.

A few years ago, the studio partnered with Coca Cola in a project called “Zero Waste Future” that took place in Thessaloniki, Greece. The 3D printed chairs were installed along the waterfront for 30 days for everyone to enjoy on a sunny day.

The entire project used over 1,763 lb (800 kg) of plastic waste and the designers gave the citizens the opportunity to choose the colors and extra functions that the chairs would have.

Turning plastic waste into a futuristic city bench in Amsterdam

The studio has collaborated with the municipality of Amsterdam and the city of Mechelen in Belgium in order to create comfortable benches that would be placed in different places around the cities. Imagine going for a walk with a friend after work and finding a bench like this to have a seat on while sipping your coffee.

The Komet bench was built using 265 lb (120 kg) of plastic waste.

According to data, Belgium has the highest rate of recycling in all of Europe, with the government managing to educate people not only on recycling but also on how to compost at home. You can only imagine how much trash we would save from ending up in landfills if we all did some home composting.

Dutch people are also very mindful when it comes to recycling. It is estimated that 90% of every 2 million tons of paper and glass that is recycled is used to make other products.

A dark green table made from old fishing nets

As was reported over a year ago, fishing nets are responsible for the large plastic oceanic pollution, resulting in the death of a lot of marine life. More than 640,000 tons of plastic fishing gear, including nets, traps, and pots, are thrown in the sea every year. In 2018 alone, 300 sea turtles were found dead, entangled in fishing nets off the coast of Oaxaca, Mexico.

Do you recycle your daily plastic or are there any other things you do to help the environment? Please share your thoughts with us.