PEAK WASTE

A0 – The scale of the problem

There is no waste in nature, yet our planet is drowning in humanity’s pollution. Swelling streams of discarded plastics, textiles, electronics and materials from construction, agriculture and industry are overwhelming the systems set up to manage them. Globally, 37% of waste ends up in some form of landfill, the majority of which is dumped in uncontrolled open sites. Other waste is incinerated, buried, composted, or recycled. Since the 1980s, some countries have been exporting toxic or hazardous waste to developing countries, out of sight but still wreaking damage on people and the land. Rising levels of waste are fuelled by our increasing and careless consumption. We have reached peak waste.

Waste contributes to climate change through the production of greenhouse gases. Human activity – including burning oil and gas in factories, heating our homes, emissions from vehicles and planes, and dumping waste in landfill – produces carbon dioxide or methane, gases that are causing the Earth’s temperature to rise. Higher temperatures lead to melting ice caps, which cool the oceans and cause rising sea levels. These, in turn, lead to extreme weather, affecting vulnerable communities and species.
Our toxic levels of waste are damaging the planet. How did we get here?

001 – Plastiglomerates – a marker of human pollution

These plastic pebbles or ‘plastiglomerates’ wash up on beaches around the world. They form when plastic bottles or other plastic waste are thrown on a bonfire or are melted by the sun and combine with sand, shingle, seaweed and other natural debris. Named by Dr Patricia Corcoran and Kelly Jazvac, plastiglomerates have come to represent the moment when human pollution and nature permanently fused.

• Materials/source: Burnt plastic and organic material/collected from beaches
• Collected by volunteers from the Cornish Plastic Pollution Coalition

002 – Edward Burtynsky – Extraction and landfill

Engaging the viewer in the environmental debate, the work of Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky captures the sublime quality of the unseen industrial landscape. His bird’s-eye views reveal the impact of human activity on the natural world, from vast landfill sites that show piles of plastic and expose the scale of our waste production, to enormous open scars where rare earth minerals and oils are mined for the manufacture of our synthetic materials, devices and batteries. These two photographs from two of Burtynsky’s series, ‘Oil Fields’ and ‘China’, show ‘the indelible marks left by humankind on the geological face of our planet’. Seen side-by-side the photographs depict two stages in the huge and global process of plastic production and disposal.

“China Recycling # 5, Phone Dials, Zeguo, Zhejiang Province, China, 2004”

• Chromogenic Colour Print
• Courtesy of Flowers Gallery, London, Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto © Edward Burtynsky

003 – Edward Burtynsky – Extraction et décharge

“Alberta Oil Sands #6, Fort McMurray, Alberta, 2007”

• Chromogenic Colour Print
• Avec l’aimable au
• Courtesy of Flowers Gallery, London, Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto © Edward Burtynsky

004 –Tracking where our rubbish goes

This research project from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Senseable City Lab investigated where the things we throw away go. Trash Track placed digital trackers on everyday waste from Seattle in the United States and recorded where they ended up.

This work uncovered new data about the global movement of waste.

Film

“Trash Track”

• Design: Senseable City Lab, MIT, 2009
• Duration: 2:18

A1 – A throwaway culture

The glamour of ‘throwaway’ has emerged from cultural, economic and technological shifts in the last half century. In the 1950s, mass production and cheap materials reduced the cost of things. However, time and labour were increasingly expensive, making repairs no longer time- or cost-effective. Products were made for convenience, with disposable cups, cutlery and nappies easier to replace than to clean, reducing the domestic workload. The range of materials it was considered acceptable to throw away started with paper and grew to include glass, ceramics, plastics, tin, aluminium and, increasingly with fast fashion, textiles. Boredom has replaced convenience: many people in the world’s wealthier countries admit to throwing out clothing because they are sick of wearing the same things. In 2017, it was estimated that 92 million tonnes of textile waste are produced globally every year, which is set to increase by 60% by 2030. Single-use plastic waste that ends up in the ocean is predicted to outweigh all the oceans’ fish by 2050, and yet 19 million tonnes of single-use plastic waste are produced globally every year. The COVID-19 pandemic led to a record surge in plastic waste – from disposable protective equipment to single-use plastic packaging – due to health and hygiene concerns.

005 – What we throw away

Cigarette butt

About 4.5 trillion butts are discarded each year worldwide – they are the most littered item on earth. They release plastic, nicotine, heavy metals and other chemicals into the environment.

Source: World Health Organisation, 2022

Plastic carrier bag

160,000 plastic bags are used globally every second. The lifetime use of each bag is just 12 minutes.

Source: UN Environment Programme and Waste Management Journal, 2017

Nappy

8.5 million tonnes of nappies are thrown away in Europe each year, filling the equivalent of almost 30 landfills.

Source: European Commission, 2019

Wet wipes

Around 68 billion wet wipes are consumed and thrown away in Europe each year, equating to 511,000 tonnes of waste per year.

Source: Zero Waste Europe, 2019

Household plastic packaging

Household plastic packaging, including shower gel bottles, food packaging and laundry detergent bottles, accounts for one third of the plastic waste disposed of in France every year. Less than one third of this waste is recycled.

Source: Citeo and Ademe, 2022.

Surgical mask

A single abandoned surgical mask releases up to 173,000 microplastics after a week at sea.

Source: Environmental Advances, March 2021.

006 – What we throw away

Plastic bottle

If the 88 billion single-use plastic bottles produced worldwide each year were lined up, the total length would amount to 31 round trips between the Earth and the Moon.

Source: Plastic Atlas, 2020

Yoghurt pot

3,440 million four-packs of polystyrene yoghurt pots or other desserts are consumed and disposed of every year in France.

Source: WWF France 2020.

Clothing

The average French person buys around ten kilograms worth of clothing, household linens and shoes every year, and throws away just as much. Among the textiles collected and sorted in France, 80% are exported, with the majority going  to Africa, which receives 30% of second-hand clothes. Poor quality and unusable, some of this clothing contributes to polluting the recipient countries.

Source: Ademe 2022, Refashion 2021 & 2019

Till receipt

On average, every supermarket uses more than 10,000 rolls of paper each year to print receipts. The systematic printing of till receipts has been banned by the French government since April 2023.

Source: Ministry for Ecological Transition, 2022

Fast-food tray

Every year in France, fast-food restaurants produce 180,000 tonnes of packaging, which is immediately thrown away by consumers after use. However, since January 2023, France has banned disposable plastic dishes and polystyrene trays in restaurants when the food is being consumed on the premises.  Source: Ministry for Ecological Transition, 2022

007 – Bottle-top chain – a winter’s worth of bottle tops

This chain is made from more than 6,600 bottle tops, collected from the beaches of Cornwall, England, over a single winter, from December 2015 to February 2016. It shows the cumulative impact made by individual volunteers who collect rubbish. It also illustrates the huge amount of consumer plastics that pollute the world’s oceans and wash up on beaches every season.

• Materials/source: High-density polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene (PP)/Cornish coastline
• Collected and made by volunteers from the Cornish Plastic Pollution Coalition, 2015

Film

“Bottle Tops”, 2015

• Film-maker: Tom Turner
• Paramore Productions
• Courtesy of the Cornish Plastic Pollution Coalition
• Duration: 4:46

008 – Garfield phone pieces – a symbol of plastic pollution

Pieces of orange plastic have regularly washed on to the beaches of Brittany, northern France, since the 1980s. Years later, they were discovered to be fragments of Garfield phones escaping from a lost shipping container, lodged deep in an inaccessible cave. In 2015, it was estimated that between 4.8 million and 12.7 million tonnes of plastic enter the ocean each year. Larger pieces degrade, becoming microplastics that enter the food chain.

• Materials/source : Plastic phone pieces/the beaches of Le Conquet and Plougonvelin (Finistère, France)
• Collected by the association Ar Viltansoù, 2017-2021

A2 – Why do we love plastic?

A synthetic polymer, plastic is an extraordinary material: lightweight, malleable, waterproof and durable. It can be solid and made bright with colour or produced as a delicate, transparent film.

Easy to mass manufacture, plastic makes many everyday essentials inexpensive. Whether preserving our food or reducing cross-contamination in medicine, use of plastic – from syringes, crash helmets, drink bottles and credit cards to cars, office chairs, waterproof jackets and mobile phones – has transformed our lives.

Plastic is a high-grade material made from virgin crude oil, and it lasts from 450 years to forever. Originally intended to replace ivory and tortoiseshell, today its widest use is in packaging. Of the 359 million tonnes of plastic produced globally each year, 40% is used just once. Much gets washed into our oceans, where it is eaten by fish and seabirds, finding its way into the human food chain. Microparticles have even been found in the placentas of unborn babies. We need to rethink how and when we use plastic.

009 – Early plastics

Early synthetic plastics were made of thermoset resins that were easy to mould and colour, and could retain their form even if heated. They replaced the use of ivory, horn and amber.

Model 1000 bullet portable radio, 1946

• Materials: Plastic (Catalin – a brand name for thermoset)
• Manufacture: FADA Radios
• Gift of David and Anne Ryan (Minneapolis)

Type 01 electric toaster, 1954

• Materials: Metal body with Bakelite knobs and base
• Design: Schott
• Manufacture: Schott

Cifra 3 synchron flip clock, 1965

• Materials: Plastic (moulded polymethacrylate) body housing mechanical components
• Design: Gino Valle, Massimo Vignelli
• Manufacture: Solari di Udine S.p.A
• Gift of David and Anne Ryan (Minneapolis)

Black 201 television set, 1969

• Materials: Plastic (acrylic) body housing glass and electronic components
• Design: Marco Zanuso, Richard Sapper
• Manufacture: Brionvega S.p.A
• Gift of Brionvega

4867 universale stacking chair, about 1967

• Materials: Plastic (injection-moulded polypropylene) and rubber
• Design: Joe Colombo
• Manufacture: Joe Colombo Kartell S.p.A., Italy

Mayday lamp, 1999

• Materials: Plastic (polypropylene)
• Design: Konstantin Grcic
• Manufacture: Flos S.p.A
• Gift of David and Anne Ryan (Minneapolis)

Neoprene jacket, 1995

• Materials: Fabric (neoprene – a blend of 68% nylon, 25% polyester and 5% spandex)
• Design: Miuccia Prada
• Manufacture: Prada
• Gift of the Conran Foundation

Design bugs out commode, 2009

• Materials: Plastic (polypropylene) on a metal (stainless steel) frame
• Design: Pearson Lloyd
• Manufacture: Kirton Healthcare Group Ltd
• Gift of Pearson Lloyd and Kirton Healthcare Group

All items are from the Design Museum Collection

010 – Everyday needs

Plastic is an ideal material for inexpensive mass production, so it is used to make many of our everyday items. After the initial cost is met for a tooled metal mould, the press of a button on a machine initiates the continual production of cups or chairs, which become cheaper per unit the more that are produced.

Long reach can, watering can, 1991

• Materials: Plastic (possibly polyvinyl chloride)
• Manufacture: Plysu plc
• Gift of the Conran Foundation
• Design Museum Collection

Retractable hose, about 1993

• Materials: Plastic (polypropylene)
• Manufacture: Hozelock Ltd
• Gift of the Conran Foundation
• Design Museum Collection

Wonderlier tupperware container, about 1950

• Materials: Plastic (polythene) bowls with flexible polyolefin lids
• Design: Earl Silas Tupper
• Manufacture: Tupperware Plastics Co.
• Design Museum Collection

Autoboil, early plastic kettle, 1979

• Materials: Plastic (polypropylene and PVC) and metal (stainless steel)
• Design: Action Design
• Manufacture: Redring Electric Ltd
• Gift of the Conran Foundation
• Design Museum Collection

Margrethe stacking bowls, 1954

• Materials: Plastic (melamine)
• Design: Sigvard Bernadotte, Acton Bjørn
• Gift of David and Anne Ryan (Minneapolis)
• Design Museum Collection

Clothes pegs, about 1990

• Materials: Plastic (possibly polycarbonate)
• Manufacture: MUJI
• Gift of the Conran Foundation
• Design Museum Collection

Stacking pots, 2003

• Materials: Plastic (acrylic)
• Manufacture: MUJI
• Gift of the Conran Foundation
• Design Museum Collection

Remote control for Sky television, 2001

Materials: Plastic, electronic components, metal

Toothbrush, 2021

• Materials: Plastic (saturated polyester resin) with nylon bristles
• Manufacture: MUJI

011 – Our health and safety

Many of the things that protect us are made of plastic because they can be easily cleaned or sterilised. Plastic has thermal properties that can keep us warm, and its diverse structural forms, from rigid to foam-like, can be used to absorb impact.

Space blanket, about 2003

• Materials: Plastic (metallised polyethylene terephthalate) film
• Design: NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
• Gift of the Conran Foundation
• Design Museum Collection

Road traffic cone

• Materials: Plastic, sand weighted
• Manufacture: JSP
• Design Museum Collection

Extra air bicycle helmet, 1993

• Materials: Plastic (polycarbonate and polystyrene)
• Manufacture: Specialized
• Gift of the Conran Foundation
• Design Museum Collection

Moon cup, menstrual cup, 2002

• Materials: Medical grade silicone
• Design Museum Collection

Plastic syringes, 2021

Materials: Plastic (polypropylene), rubber

Blood bags, 2021

Materials: Plastic (polyvinyl chloride – PVC)

012 – For all stages of life

Plastic is malleable and can be made into any shape. The design of products and tools to adapt to the human form makes plastic easier to use at all stages of life.

Mammut chair, 1993

• Materials: Plastic (polypropylene)
• Design: Morten Kjelstrup, Allan Östgaard
• Manufacture: IKEA
• Gift of the Conran Foundation

Baby sterilisation unit, 1986

• Materials: Plastic and rubber (latex)
• Design: Product Identity Design Ltd
• Manufacture: Mothercare

Nova toilet trainer, 1964

• Materials: Plastic (polypropylene)
• Design: David Harman Powell
• Manufacture: EKCO Plastics Ltd
• Gift of David Harman Powell

Anywayup cup, 1998

• Materials: Plastic body, rubber seal
• Design: Mike Webster, Sebastian Conran Associates
• Manufacture: Haberman Products Ltd
• Gift of the Conran Foundation

Natural keyboard, 1994

• Materials: Plastic body housing electronic components
• Design: Ziba Design
• Manufacture: Microsoft Corporation
• Gift of the Conran Foundation

Good grips ‘swivel’ potato peeler, 1992

• Materials: Thermoplastic rubber (TPR) handle with metal blade
• Design: Sam Farber
• Manufacture: Smart Design Inc.
• Gift of the Conran Foundation

Grip tongs, 1984

• Materials: Fibreglass, polycarbonate, ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) plastics and magnet
• Design: Maria Benktzon, Håkan Bergkvist, Sven-Eric Juhlin
• Manufacture: F. M. Matsson

All items are from the Design Museum Collection

A3 — Built to break

Many products have been designed to break. In the depths of the global economic depression in the 1930s, planned obsolescence, a manufacturing philosophy intended to limit the lifespan of a product, encouraged consumers to buy new things. Whether by regularly updating technology or changing the style of a particular model, the approach encourages consumers to upgrade sooner than is necessary, with advertising a key tool in the seduction.

There are economic advantages to this wasteful approach. Rapid replacement of goods creates wealth for the manufacturer and generates employment. It creates a stable level of demand that leads to efficient production and lower manufacturing costs. So consumer goods, from electrical appliances to mobile phones, are made more affordable to more people. Today, electronic waste – e-waste – is the fastest growing waste stream, with 50 million tonnes generated globally in 2020. From out-of-date laptops to broken printers, only 20% of e-waste is officially recycled. Manufacturing is the third largest contributor to climate change. The economic model of deliberately wasteful consumption is no longer sustainable.

013 — Ore Streams – Researching electronic waste

The research-based design studio Formafantasma spent three years investigating the impact of electronic and digital waste in a project called ‘Ore Streams’. The studio created a series of films, an archive of interviews and research papers and a number of furniture pieces to document and illustrate the damaging environmental and human costs of current practice, from extracting minerals to our desire to consume. This film shows a series of historic and contemporary objects – such as lightbulbs, electric toothbrushes and disposable cameras – that have been designed with artificially short lives to ensure repeated sales.

Film

“Planned obsolescence ”

• Concept/Design: Formafantasma – Andrea Trimarchi, Simone Farresin, 2018
• Graphic design: Studio Joost Grootens
• Design and development: Jeroen Van De Gruiter
• Research and development: Johanna Seelemann, Nicolas Verschaeve
• Filming: Johanna Seelemann, Nicolas Verschaeve
• Voice-over: Claire Bocking, Miriam Yang
• Voice-over texts editor: Tamar Shafrir
• Animation, video editing and renderings: Martin Gaillard
• General assistant: Simón Ballen Botero
• Commissioned by the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, and Triennale Milan
• Duration: 6:35

014 — Planned obsolescence – legislation and denunciation

Programmed obsolescence is the deliberate shortening of a product’s lifespan in order to speed up the purchase of new products. The French law of 17 August 2015 makes this practice an offence. It can be punishable by two years’ imprisonment and fines ranging from €300,000 to 5% of the average annual turnover of the company guilty of it. In the same year in Italy, Apple and Samsung were punished for their practice of programmed obsolescence.

• Source: Official Journal promulgating Law No. 2015-992 of 17 August 2015 on the energy transition for green growth.
• Source: article published in Le Monde, 24 October 2015

Repairability index – Labels to inform consumer choices

France is the first country in Europe to implement a Repairability Index. Since January 2021, French law has required clear information on the repairability of five categories of electronics: smartphones, laptops, washing machines, televisions and lawnmowers. It aims to help consumers choose repairable products and thus motivate manufacturers to improve repairability. More product categories and criteria will be added by 2024. The score is self-graded by manufacturers, using a spreadsheet provided by the French Ministry of Ecological Transition. The consumer association UFC-Que Choisir has criticised the self-grading method of the index which does not always allow for a proper comparison of products. In 2024, this index will be replaced by the durability index for these same products. Two new criteria will be added: product reliability (robustness) and upgradability.