The amount of plastic waste that enters the world’s water every day is unbelievable. As our society is looking for solutions to combat the issues with single-use plastic and its waste, there are approaches that we can take in the meantime.
There are three approaches we can take towards plastic: reuse, downcycle, or upcycle. Two designers, based out of Hong Kong, decided to take action on the amount of plastic waste in the Shin Mun River in Sha Tin, Hong Kong. Through design, they have created a product that not only upcycles the plastic collected but also gives back to the community. They have designed a bench that can be utilized in any public space in Hong Kong. Public benches there are commonly made of wood and fabric but they tend to wear quickly and are replaced often. With the introduction of plastic benches into the community, the need to replace will be greatly reduced through this upcycling trend.
Through this project, these designers tackled several issues. The issues they address are: plastic waste, upcycling plastic, giving back to the community, and creating long-term community pieces. The final, and arguably the most important, is the educating aspect of these benches. Through the incorporation of these benches and the information behind them, the community gets to learn and experience the positive effect that upcycling plastic will have long term. They will be able to aid in recycling of plastic to allow for designers to create more pieces that can go into a community.
Ultimately these Hong Kong designers have not only created an upward trend of upcycling plastics within their community, they have also created a strong circular economy.
Sources:
Material Transformations 
It is undoubtedly great to recycle plastic in ways that could benefit both our environment and community. However, how can we implement design ideas that could be used within a household? The efforts for recycling plastic from building roads, buildings, and neat benches, to mention a few are great to hear but, in reality, are we doing enough? In 2015 over 2.9 million tons of plastic waste was generated, and only 9% of it was recycled, and 79% ended up in landfills or the environment. How can we make more people recycle? The idea of creating something that a community could benefit from really highlights a way to get more people interested in recycling. It could serve as a great inspiration, and perhaps soon, we could begin to see companies who will collect your plastic waste and return something made from it. Melting and molding plastic to create anything is something challenging to do, especially at home, not to mention toxic fumes. Designing further in the making of recycled products to capture more people’s attention is to design products/objects that can be created at certain locations using recycled plastic. Not only will plastic be recycle, but it is both redesign and reuse to the individual’s liking. There are many ways to recycle but our primary goal is not what we can use recycled plastic for but how we can incorporate a more extensive scale of usage within communities to capture their imagination and efforts to reduce plastic waste.
Source:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/slideshow/plastic-facts
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I really enjoyed your insight on the integration of plastic and architecture, and I believe it is our duty as designers to begin to tackle these environmental issues. The Hong Kong bench precedent is such a great example of upcycling plastic through design, and ultimately giving back to the community. In 2018 there was 26,970 tons of plastic sitting in landfills. Imagine the way we could use this material through architectural design and reduce and create education around the issue. Due to plastics durability and long material life, it makes it a great option for projects such as the bench, making the need to replace these objects much less necessary.
As you stated in your writing, one of the most important goals of the Hong Kong project was the ability for it to educate and give back to the community. This reminded me of a project I wrote a blog post on earlier on in the semester, the Pet Pavilion located in The Netherlands. This project integrated recycled water bottles into the facade of the pavilion space, studying the way that plastic can be used as a primary material in design. A double transparent wall holds over 40,000 water bottles allowing for light to pass through into the interior space, and creating a conversation around consumerism and single-use plastic. Although plastic is not currently seen as a primary building material throughout architecture, successful projects can change the narrative all while creating a positive environmental impact.
References:
– https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/plastics-material-specific-data
– https://www.archdaily.com/870029/from-recycled-plastic-waste-to-building-material
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