Tag Archives: waste management

AI-powered machine concept helps you sort and dispose of waste properly

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According to studies, almost 83% of our every day garbage is not sorted and recycled. That means a lot of it is just thrown into landfills and most of them just stay there rotting for years, maybe even decades. If we are able to properly sort them properly, even just a small percentage, and dispose of them in a more circular manner, including recycling and upcycling, then it will be better for our planet. The problem sometimes though is that people and even machines still don’t know how to sort and recycle properly.

Designer Name: Romain Pellat

With the advent of robotics and A.I, our garbage disposal should be better. This is what Binko aims to do. It is an AI-powered recycling robot that should help homes and offices to improve the way they do their waste disposal. It is able to auto-recognize the different kinds of garbage, sort them properly, and then crush them accordingly.

The concept device looks like a vendo machine but instead of it giving you your drink or snack of choice, you feed it your garbage. The machine and the accompanying app should be able to recognize more than 2.6 million waste items. Then it will compress or crush the garbage into small pieces and is able to hold an average of 8 times more resources. The system is able to sort it into one of the 7 transparent compartments that can be adapted according to location.

The app will be the first to launch and it can immediately help people into recognizing how to sort their garbage using the AI-powered photo recognition process. It also gives you a map of nearby recycling bins and even reminds you to take out your trash. That in itself is useful even as Binko will probably take more time to be created.

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This waste bin has a neat trick for segregation and has a surprising function

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We’re often told to separate our trash so that biodegradable, recyclable, and other types of waste don’t mix. That’s easier said than done, of course, thanks to the different categories that trash falls under, plus almost all waste baskets and trash cans are just singular receptacles designed without segregation in mind. Because of these considerations, most people don’t develop that good habit, especially at home. This “Hole Box” design concept for a home or office trash bin tries to solve that problem not just with separate sections for different kinds of trash but also by making garbage segregation as easy as playing a shape puzzle game.

Designer: Nikolay Vladykin

The problem with most garbage segregation systems is that they are wasteful and confusing. In many cases, the same amount of space is reserved for different types of trash, even if the volume of one kind is just a fraction of another. PET bottles take up more space than paper or even these bottles’ caps, for example. They can also be confusing because not all objects cleanly fall in those categories, especially in places where there are more than four of them.

Hole Box makes a rather intriguing solution to that puzzle by turning trash management into something like a puzzle. Rather than just equal spaces for different kinds of trash, sections have different capacities which can be utilized for waste that might need more or less space. Paper and boards, for example, can go to a section with a taller but narrower area, while recyclable waste will go in a bigger chute.

What makes this design concept even more interesting are the holes for different kinds of waste. These can be assigned to trash that comes in specific sizes and shapes, such as plastic cups and containers, or they can be labeled as needed. More importantly, however, these “holes” can be equipped with different bags inside so that they are really segregated the moment you put something in its proper place.

One rather curious design of the Hole Box is that it can also function as a pouf or even a table. The removable top not only provides access to the trash inside but also has a cushion you can sit on. Whether you’d actually like to sit on what is essentially a wastebasket is a different question, but it at least offers another seat should you be in need of one in an emergency.

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ByFusion ByBlocks can eliminate the global plastic crisis

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If you grew up watching Wall-E, you will probably be reminded of the garbage cubes when you see this project by ByFusion. The ByBlock is an environment-friendly building block that can be used in different projects and construction. We have heard of similar ideas before, just like the one in the Disney-Pixar movie, but it’s only now that we are finally seeing such an idea come to life.

ByFusion is a startup that spent several years in Research and Development to come up with ByBlock. Each block is a combination of plastic and nonrecyclables. The company used steam and compression to shape the blocks to use for simple construction like maybe a fence or terrace.

Designer: ByFusion

ByBlock ByFusion Photo

BUILDING WITH BYBLOCK Design

Using a patented technology known as Blockers, each ByBlock is a result of many plastic materials being squeezed. It doesn’t require cleaning or sorting—just like in the movie. In this case, the Blockers are doing WALL-E’s job. Each ByBlock is giving plastic waste a brand new life. With this effort, plastic garbage will someday be reduced. All types of plastic waste can be used to build one piece of ByBlock. It goes through zero-waste process so it’s really sustainable.

ByBlock ByFusion Details

ByBlock

A ton of plastic can make one ton of ByBlocks. It’s also easy to use as no adhesives or glues are required—not even specialized labor. As described, the ByBlocks won’t crumble or crack. This revolutionary creation has the potential to be used in different construction projects while helping the environment clean up and reduce waste.

BUILDING WITH BYBLOCK Going Green

All those plastic materials will no longer be wasted. It’s definitely environment-friendly as it doesn’t need any chemicals or fillers. ByFusion is also partnering with several corporations, municipalities, governments, and recycling facilities. The more groups working together to reduce/reuse/recycle, the better is the future of waste management for Mother Earth.

BUILDING WITH BYBLOCK System

BUILDING WITH BYBLOCK Sustainable

A blocker, by definition, prevents something to happen. But the Blocker used by ByFusion doesn’t inhibit anything, instead, it transforms waste into something useful. On the other hand, you can also say a Blocker is instrumental now in inhibiting plastic to be further wasted.

BUILDING WITH BYBLOCK Blocker

ByFusion describes the Blocker as a game-changer. The patented system can be implemented and used by other partners and local governments to put the garbage under control. Little by little, the whole process will help reduce the plastic crisis not just in one city but the whole world.

ByBlock ByFusion Design

Repurposing waste is being done but ByFusion is doing it right. Plastic waste being put to work is definitely a great thing. You can say it is the ultimate landfill divergent solution as ByFusion sees it. We can agree this effort helps protect our planet and everything in it—the wildlife, waterways, and the oceans. The world will soon be rid of plastic waste if this ByFusion ByBlocker system becomes widely available.

ByBlock ByFusion

ByBlock ByFusion Sample

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A modular kitchen bin design is the ultimate organization hack for sorting and taking out your trash

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GoodHoome’s line of kitchen bins is a modular solution for sorting and taking out the trash.

No matter where you live, no one likes taking out the trash. It can be a messy job—the bin is usually overstuffed and removing the liner is never fun when that’s the case. Plenty of solutions have come out in the past, but too often, designers trade simplicity for highly technical designs that don’t stand the test of time. GoodHome, a home appliance brand operated by Kingfisher Design Studio, developed a line of kitchen trash and recycling bins to help simplify sorting trash and throwing it out.

Designer: GoodHome x Kingfisher Design Studio

GoodHome’s line of trash bins features several different configurations of three different trash bins consolidated into one product. Kingfisher Design Studio worked with GoodHome to create trash bins that help, “[encourage] households to improve the quality of their recycled waste by making it easier to sort and store.”

GoodHome’s trash bins are comprised of three different sections that help make sorting trash simple. While each household can assign different types of waste for each bin, a typical household would allot one for recyclables, regular trash, and then food waste for compost. To provide enough storage capacity while maintaining a compact size, GoodHome merged those three different compartments to create a one-stop shop for all of your trash needs.

The different modules can also be configured to meet your spatial needs. Each trash bin is made from stainless steel for a simple, modern look that’s also impact-resistant to maximize the product’s shelf life. Then, when it’s time to take out the trash, users can lift the bin’s internal container to gain access to the garbage bag’s liner.

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This planter made from porecelain, organic waste & carbon actively reduces greenhouse gas emissions!

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As we transition out of a health crisis, we can’t rest because we still have to deal with the climate crisis. There is worldwide anxiety about climate change and we are already seeing its disastrous effects.  Many conscious consumers are embracing sustainable lifestyles and the idea of carbon tech which simply means ways to turn excess CO2 into everyday products. One such innovative design is the Potted Carbon planter which looks like a simple off-white stone speckled with black but is an innovative design with a new material that reduces carbon emissions!

The Potted Carbon planters are made from porcelain mixed with organic waste that has been diverted from landfills. Landfills were accounted for about 15% of the U.S.’s annual methane emissions in 2019, so diverting some of that waste could help make a dent in emissions while also showcasing the possibilities of the new material that can be used for things beyond pottery. This new base material is called OurCarbon™. California-based company, Bioforcetech, has developed a technology to sanitize carbon and lock it into place for thousands of years. They developed the material as a soil amendment, material additive, filter, and colorant so it can be used in multiple ways.

So how does the pot trap carbon? Well, when porcelain and OurCarbon™ are fired together in a kiln they become inseparable. Another secret ingredient is grit which is wasted silica that’s seen as a nuisance in the waste management industry. During firing, grit melts into a glass-like material, which solidifies as it cools, and works as the binder that sticks porcelain and OurCarbon™ together making it into a solid material that is then molded into a planter. OurCarbon™ partnered with Sum Studio and Oakland-based design studio Break to design the Potted Carbon planters and are looking to expand the use for the new material so that they can scale the impact on reducing carbon emissions.

You can fit a six-inch nursery pot snugly into the handmade Potted Carbon planter. You can also upsize the container for your four-inch nursery plant and give it space to grow. Each planter comes with DEN sustainable soil which is locally sourced, synthetic-free, peat-free soil ingredients shipped to you carbon neutrally in biodegradable packaging. The planter features a flat vertical face with indentations on opposite sides as a subtle homage to the handles on ancient pots. The indentations let you suspend a nursery pot on the rim without fully potting it, leaving room for drainage underneath.

Designer: OurCarbon, Sum Studio and Break

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This 100% self-sustaining cabin is was placed in the forest without a trace of fossil fuels!

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You know my love for cabins and sustainability, I am always searching for the best cabins to go live in once the pandemic is over and sustainable designs that can help slow down the climate crisis. I finally found a design that marries them both and this is the most perfect cabin to exist on my list – a 100% self-sustaining and sustainable off-the-grid cabin that focuses on enjoying as well as preserving the environment it is in! They invented an assembly architecture that is fully adaptable to the environment and doesn’t even need a boom truck to be transported because of the construction technology (through assemblies) – the team takes the materials anywhere even when the construction site is far from the car path.

The latest cabin by the company is called Krul and is developed to perform independently of passive systems. The interiors are designed in a way to allow maximum natural sunlight, especially during winters to keep it naturally warm as much as possible. The orientation of the structure also maintains breezy natural ventilation even during summers. The water harvested or used is naturally treated through a worm-based Lombrifiltro system – think of it as biomimicry of our natural ecosystem. It provides enough for reuse (shower to WC), sanitation, drinking water, and sewage system. The wood used is treated with the best product on the market, certified without chemicals, and the best sealing technology in the world Rothoblass. The cabin completely eliminates the need for fossil fuels, external services, and bills!

ZeroCabin wants to change the habits of its occupants by providing the tools to live sustainably. “It is not about ‘what happens if the water-scarce,’ the questions these days should be ‘if the waters scarce, are my habits according to the water available in the place where I live? If the solar energy is not enough, are my consumption habits according to the energy available?” adds the team when talking about the thought process behind the design. All ZeroCabins regardless of the modality you buy (turnkey or DIY) have a structural base that allows optimal capture of their only two inputs, just like trees: sun and rainwater. The cabin maximizes functionality oversize but includes a wide range of modifications you can do based on the land you want to put it on and as long as it is aligned with their environmental guidelines.

Additionally, the company also encourages all cabin owners to be a part of their 100% ecological tourism network. Every cabin kit sold finances planting of native trees according to the reforestation campaigns. “We do not seek to make houses with character, spatiality, or identity … our architect is nature and its rules, and from there we create something for you. The result is a respectful mutualism that will not break the limits of the environment and in gratitude, you will be able to live without accounts happy of life for the rest of your life,” says the team with utmost love for their work and their efforts to help the environment. ZeroCabin is a home that adapts to you and the planet seamlessly.

Designer: ZeroCabin

This sustainable interlocking system lets vendors reuse, reshape, and reduce the stall waste at festivals

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Picture this, you are at a festival that is bustling with stalls – you are trying different food, shopping for little items, taking pictures of the experiential booths. But have you ever come back to the scene after the festival is over? After the festival is over it is basically a giant waste site of all the dismantled temporary stalls. Plexus was designed to eliminate the waste generated by these exhibitions without taking away from their charm!

Vendors never really re-use the stalls as they might have a different need in terms of sizes and themes depending on the event. However, constantly investing in new stalls not only creates waste but is also costly. Plexus is a waste-reducing prototype that was made keeping in mind the needs of vendors as well as the environment. The unique construction of Plexus reminds me of tazzos. It is a network of two components – nodes and connectors – that lets you make 1000 stall variations with different shapes and sizes. The adaptable system is designed on a cellular automata model and can be flat-packed in crates for easy shipping. “Cellular automata are mathematical models designed to construct the complexity of natural systems displayed in a diverse naturally occurring phenomena. This complexity model consists of simple systems resulting in dynamic field behavior when interacting with each other,” explains the team.

Plexus draws inspiration for its amorphous frame from nature from the lattice-like body of a Venus flower basket giving it an easy plug-and-play feel. “It is designed as an intricate network, whereby a series of simple components, based on aggregation principles, can result in a new design of the display booth for every exhibition, and also a new brand image. Designed as a universal model, this system can adapt to nonstandard stall sizes and to a differentiated product range,” said Britta Knobel Gupta and Amit Gupta, Founding Partners, Studio Symbiosis.

Events like festivals, fairs, and exhibitions are where vendors can market their product directly to the consumers – it is a place ripe with opportunities for business. With Plexus, vendors can reduce waste drastically without changing the way they participate in these events. Since it is reusable and can be molded into different forms which allow vendors to keep things fresh and creative without adding on extra costs.

Designer: Studio Symbiosis





Inspired by origami, this collapsible syringe provides an eco-friendly alternative to reduce biomedical waste!

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Billions of needles and syringes are used each year, including needles used for injections made by those who are healthcare professionals and those who are not. When improperly disposed of, needle and syringe waste can create a serious biohazard since the inner tubing’s infected blood cannot be broken down or processed through recycling. This mass accumulation of waste might reach a peak with the global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, but one designer has already taken to the drawing board for solutions. Helix, a collapsible syringe, was designed by Daniel López Velasco & Ithzel Libertad Cerón López as a green alternative to the disposable devices used in today’s health sector.

A conventional syringe, those plastic tubes with the string-thin steel needle, requires the use of five different materials for construction including steel, polyethylene, rubber, resin, glue, and thermal dye. To make the construction process less laborious and costly, Helix is constructed from a single material: FlexiOH UV, a heat-curable type of silicone. To maintain Helix’s collapsible parts’ flexibility and the needle’s rigidity, the designers employed thermal-curing, a temperature-induced hardening process.

Inspired by the ability to compact lots of volume and space through the paper-folding art of origami, Helix’s crystalline, silicone structure is able to carry liquids for vaccines and be emptied once collapsed. Medication can be poured into Helix through a vacuum loading inlet located above the needle’s rigid plunger. Then, when ready for use, the rigid plunger sinks down and compresses the collapsible plunger, successfully and safely administering the medication to the patient through the rigid silicone needle.

In constructing Helix from a single material and giving it a compact, collapsible structure, the designers created a green alternative to the conventional syringe and needle, reducing its size by 30%. The issue of biomedical waste might be reaching a peak with the onset of 2020’s global pandemic and the upcoming vaccine rollout, but designs like Helix help streamline safe healthcare practices while maintaining World Health Organization and environmental standards.

Designers: Daniel López Velasco & Ithzel Libertad Cerón López

Entirely constructed from a single material, each Helix syringe is made from FlexiOH UV, a heat-curable type of silicone.

Inspired by the paper-folding art of origami, Helix employs a collapsible method for giving safe doses of medication.





The rigid needle of Helix is made from the same material as the rest of the collapsible syringe.

The silicone needle is strong enough to substitute the steel needle.

The rigidity of Helix’s needle and the flexibility of the syringe was achieved through a process called Thermal-curing.

Medication is loaded into Helix through a vacuum loading inlet located at the top of the syringe.

When in use, the collapsible syringe administers medication to the patient through a double hollow, allowing the medication to flow freely.

Without the need to remove the needle from the syringe before disposal, Helix can be disposed of completely.

This 3D printed sustainable clay range is an indigenous storage solution that reduces food waste!

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All over the world, we face the challenge of waste generation and management. Most people think that plastic is the biggest culprit but you would be surprised to know that food waste the largest waste contributor worldwide. To put it into context, food is responsible for 44% while plastic is responsible for 12% – that is a problem we need to fix and designer Lea Randebrock is taking a step in the right direction with her Clay Pantry collection.

About 1/4th of the food waste, which is generated in industrialized countries goes back to the actions of consumers and the busy lifestyles of western countries in combination with a lack of knowledge. Old-timey solutions like root-cellars made it possible to store produce throughout winter but now we have cheap food that is quick to cook and always available which has been taken for granted. People are not only detached from their environment but also from the food they consume and Clay Pantry wants to change that approach through its organic design. It provides a suitable space for fruits and vegetables which make up for the highest waste count. Inspired by traditional storing methods, this collection was created to be used within our modern lifestyle settings – the best of both worlds. The furniture-container collection includes the Root Stool, Fruit Shelf, Tempered Box, and Watering Jug which are all crafted around the behavior and actions of watering plants. “By watering the objects like plants, the focus goes effortlessly to the objects and the content,” describes Randebrock who has been a student of furniture design and is inspired by indigenous materials.

Clay has been used since ancient times as a storage solution for food and drinks, having grown up in India it is a big part of the culture and in fact, water stored in clay pots is always cooler (and sweeter!). The cooling effect is due to the porosity of earthenware which has natural cooling properties when soaked with water. Clay Pantry optimizes this property to give you a range of storage containers for small, urban homes. The Root Stool provides dry and dark storage space and the Tempered Box was created for produce that needs humid and cool conditions. The Fruit Shelf and Water Jug are self-explanatory. Clay Pantry’s modular nature makes it a perfect fit for compact apartments and for those looking for an eco-friendly storage solution for their produce.

“In the situation followed by the challenging spring of 2020, I believe it is more important than ever to include empathy in our society. Any aspects of everyday life are challenged and need to be redesigned and restructured. While this is a challenging time, this is a chance to question the status quo. As a designer, I hope to contribute in a positive way to a Post-Corona society,” says Randebrock, a student of the Royal College of Arts. She has used a traditional food storage method but brought it to life using 3D printing – the best of both worlds is embodied in this collection that serves us and our environment.

Designer: Lea Randebrock

clay pantry

clay pantry 1

clay pantry 2

Can NIVEA’s 3D printed shower gel refill station prototype really reduce plastic packaging waste?

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Brands are consciously moving towards eco-friendly practices and the first hurdle every single one of them has to overcome is plastic packaging waste. NIVEA’s parent company is German giant Beiersdorf and they are on a mission to reduce packaging waste by minimizing and closing their material cycles. And for NIVEA that meant launching a shower gel refill station! Now it is a good first step and has its pros but also has some cons. The biggest con is that shower gels itself are not good for the environment and there is no way to know how many bottles actually get rinsed clean before they are recycled – otherwise, it doesn’t work. Shower gels also need a lot of water to be made, and as climate change makes the world hotter/drier, the water crisis is already a big issue in many countries. A solution to that? Bar soaps! NIVEA makes those too, they use less water and can be packaged in recycled paper – that is the real solution but if this refill station reduces some plastic waste and sparks a movement for the brand to take bigger steps, then we are here to see it.

The prototype is going to be tested in select locations where the brand will gather data on how consumers are interacting, feeling, reacting to the concept of reusable bottles. The prototype machine was made with their in-house 3D printers. NIVEA hopes that with this refill station they will make it convenient for consumers to reuse containers and reduce plastic usage. Once they experience that it is easy to make small sustainable lifestyle changes, they will be quicker to adopt it as a habit. The refill station has been carefully designed, developed, and engineered by a cross-functional team within Beiersdorf’s global packaging and R&D functions. Consumers can refill up to three times before sending their bottles to be recycled and get a new one for hygiene reasons – this limitation slows down the plastic consumption problem but without longevity in the solution, it will not end the cycle.

Caroline Zia, Senior Formula Developer at Beiersdorf wanted to make sure that the concept worked for sustainability and for the consumer’s experience. “The formulations need to withstand the additional burden of refilling and we had to carefully choose our products after extensive internal testing. Also, the machine had to be programmed for additional cleaning protocols so that we could guarantee multiple filling loops and still meet our safety and sustainability criteria,’ she explains. The machine’s design had to also account for the retailer’s interior requirements while providing easy user experience. “We decided to use light as visual support to guide the users. Whenever one of the dedicated refill-bottles has been filled or a bar code has been printed, the integrated LED lights give feedback to the consumer,” says Marta Suslow, Concept Designer at Beiersdorf’s packaging department. Other details include formula choice and refill cycles, sophisticated pumps, color-changing lights, a label printer, and a programmed microcontroller.

While this is a good start, personal care brands, especially global giants like NIVEA can step up their game to find real solutions that make it a sustainable choice. You already have the product and the presence, pivot to reducing plastic waste at a larger scale as well as reduce water consumption with one ‘clean’ move – soap.

Designers: Marta Suslow, Caroline Zia, Koushik Sreedhar, Bernhard Felten, Cecile Ratschow of Beiersdorf