plastic life cycles

Plastic has become such an overwhelmingly ubiquitous material largely in part due to its cost and flexibility of application. However, it often comes across as invaluable and thus disposable in many cases. By juxtaposing the permanent, multi-functional quality of plastic against materials and objects that are not, we can get a clearer picture into how we specifically situate plastic into our lives and how much repurpose potential is wasted. The practical reuse of these cheap plastic materials as replacements for more quality materials that have fallen to disarray provides a new lens for us to question our current practices involving plastic.

Trashed Treasures is a designed to be a local park-like setting where people can come to return their plastic and aluminum trash. As much of the plastic we dispose of today is technically recyclable, most of it just ends up in landfills and oceans, contaminating natural environments and siphoning our limited resources. This site provides a communal setting for people to return often disposable plastic and aluminum materials and repurpose them for a more permanent use. Merchants and artisans are able to take these sorted materials and up-cycle them into objects people can buy. Water bottles can turn into furniture. Tires can turn into flower pots. Plastic bags can turn into woven, more permanent bags. The piled collection of these materials also produce intermediate areas where people can gather and children can play, lending itself as a place for collective gathering as well as an up-cycling facility.