Title: '+ design - waste': a project for upcycling refuse using design tools

Authors: Carlo Santulli; Carla Langella

Addresses: Department of Chemical Engineering, Materials and the Environment, Sapienza University of Rome, via Eudossiana 18, 00184 Rome, Italy ' IDEAS Department, Second University of Naples (SUN), Monastery of St. Laurent ad Septimum, 81031 Aversa (CE), Italy

Abstract: This work introduces and describes a number of projects, which are aimed at reusing waste materials in design objects, aiming at reducing the environmental impact of their disposal, by providing to them an added value. This would also allow verifying specific opportunities for development offered by this approach to innovation and revaluation of productive sectors, in particular focusing on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) operating locally. A methodology was followed, which was based upon the integration of different know-how and oriented to promote the glitch of creativity process. Waste used included polystyrene disposable crockery, woodchips, molten rock powder and kaolin, steel plates and glass. This approach may offer results in different contexts, at different scales and in different market sectors, conferring added value to disposed materials, by 'upcycling' them. In this respect, it is also proposed that other applications, involving either the same materials or other wastes that are difficult to be collected and recycled are developed in the future.

Keywords: waste management; natural stones; plastic crockery; woodchip; industrial waste; glass; jewels; seats; diatoms; materials reuse; design objects; environmental impact; added value; small and medium-sized enterprises; SMEs; polystyrene; disposable crockery; molten rock powder; kaolin; steel plates; upcycling; recycling; sustainable design; sustainability.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSDES.2013.057121

International Journal of Sustainable Design, 2013 Vol.2 No.2, pp.105 - 127

Received: 05 Sep 2012
Accepted: 17 Dec 2012
Published online: 28 Jun 2014 *

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