Plastic a material once seen as fantastic has now become a material with many negative connotations. We interact with so many types of plastics daily as humans but are we doing enough to stop the destruction plastic causes to our natural environment? Is it possible to reimagine the way we view plastic? According to SAS (surfers against sewage) “1 in 3 fish caught for human consumption now contains plastic”, so now as humans we are consuming plastic through fish due to our pollution habits. (SAS, 2024)
Image of fish in the ocean (EMF, 2019)
World War II was the beginning of a need for the expansion of plastic as a material, to “preserve scarce natural resources”. (SHI, 2024) By the end of the war production had increased by 300%, plastic was replacing many other materials. Humans designed this material to preserve our natural resources, when in fact the life cycle has now come full circle destroying our natural resources and ending up in the food we eat. This is a fantastic example of the importance of materials and the role they play. It highlights the need for material education throughout the design process. If designers are not choosing materials responsibly then we are not fully understanding future impacts of our design choices. This example should educate us on the importance of the life cycle of a material and the negative impacts it can create on the future of the planet and ourselves if not designed and used responsibly.
Often many design decisions we make have a linear approach, focusing on the finished aesthetic of a space instead of also thinking about the life span of the space. Designers need to modernise our approach to the way we design, focusing on a holistic approach that considers what happens after the space has become redundant. We need to consider where the materials we have chosen will finish their life cycle? Will they be reused and recycled or will they end up in landfill. The Ellen Macarthur Foundation talks about it best when discussing a “circular economy” where “materials are designed to be used, not used up”. In a circular economy plastic never becomes waste that causes pollution. (EMF, 2019)
The foundation also talks about the fact that it is now no longer possible to create a circular economy for plastic without the elimination of the material, we need to physically reduce the volume of the material produced to create a circular economy of the plastic already in circulation. There is a need for designers to develop creative ways of reusing plastic within design to change the impacts the material has on the environment. Achieving this could reframe the negative connotations we perceive around this mass-produced material and create a fresh and positive perspective of its uses. (EMF, 2019)
Bibliography:
Surfers Against Sewage, (SAS), 2024. Plastic Pollution, Facts & Figures.
https://www.sas.org.uk/plastic-pollution/plastic-pollution-facts-figures/
Accessed on 12/11/2024
Science History Institute, (SHI), 2024. History and Future of Plastics.
Accessed on 12/11/2024
Ellen MacArthur Foundation, (EMF). 2019. Plastics and the Circular Economy – Deep Dive
https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/plastics-and-the-circular-economy-deep-dive
Accessed on 12/11/2024
