Recycling Crusader Uses Simple Garbage to Build Houses for the Poor
For the past five decades, Nargis Latif has been actively advocating for the recycling of trash in Pakistan as an alternative to simply burning it all and raising pollution levels. But perhaps her greatest achievement has been developing a technique of building cheap housing for the poor of Karachi out of blocks of dry waste. […]
Italian High-School Students Create Vending Machine That Turns Plastic Trash into Phone Cases
A group of high-school students from Italy have invented an awesome vending machine that grinds used plastic bottles into pellets which are then turned into smartphone cases by a built-in 3D printer. Saving the planet, making the world cleaner for future generations or just doing the right thing are powerful arguments for recycling, but the […]
Company Recycles Coffee Grounds into Durable Coffee Cups
German company Kaffeeform combines dried coffee grounds and biopolymer to create stylish-looking coffee cups and saucers that are not only durable and dishwasher-safe, but even smell a bit like coffee. For every cup of coffee you brew, about two tablespoons of grounds wind up in the trash. That doesn’t seem like a lot, but just think […]
Danish Artist Travels the World Building Thousands of Scrapwood Birdhouses for Urban Birds
Thomas Dambo, an artist from Denmark, is using his sculpting skills to help thousands of urban birds around the world. Fueled by the belief that humans should coexist peacefully with other species, he makes use of scrap wood to build houses for birds everywhere he goes. “Over the last 7 years I have made more than […]
Kamikatsu – Japan’s Aspiring Zero-Waste Town
We’ve heard many stories of individuals across the world who’ve adopted a zero-waste lifestyle, but it’s not often that we come across an entire community that is trying to become waste-free. The residents of Kamikatsu, Japan, take recycling so seriously that they actually hope to become the nation’s first zero-waste community by 2020. Kamikatsu has no garbage trucks […]
Dutch Students Turn Wasted Rotting Fruit into “Fruit Leather” Accessories
A team of six undergrads in the Netherlands have come up with a brilliant use for wasted fruit – they’re converting it into leather! The eco-friendly project – titled ‘Fruitleather Rotterdam’ involves transforming rotten fruit into a durable, malleable, leather-like material. It started off as a school assignment at the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam, […]
Garbage Gone Glam – Designer Turns Everyday Trash into Fashionable Outfits
Kristen Alyce is an eco-conscious designer who converts all kinds of trash, like discarded drink cartons, leaflets and concert tickets, into fashionable outfits for women. Her quirky designs include all sorts of clothing – right from cocktail dresses to floor length gowns, made under her label ‘Garbage Gone Glam’. Kristen said that she started dreaming […]
San Francisco Artist Turns Disposable Coffee Cups into Stunning Works of Art
We love all kinds of unusual art here at OC, and Miguel Cardona’s unique paper cups fit the bill perfectly. The San Francisco-based illustrator and professor of design takes ordinary coffee cups and transforms them into stunning collectibles. His doodles cover a range of subjects – from aliens to sea creatures, and even the face […]
Beautiful Cyberpunk Collages Made with Discarded Computer Parts
I’ve always been a big fan of steampunk and cyberpunk art, and the beautiful collages of Anna Dabrowska, a.k.a. Finnabair, are some of the most intriguing works I’ve ever seen. The mixed media artist hailing from Warsaw, Poland, uses all kinds of materials, from used computer components to old buttons and even dead moths. “I love […]
Artist Turns Confiscated Scissors into Creepy Spider Sculptures
Every year, the Transportation Security Administration confiscates countless objects deemed dangerous from passengers boarding flights at airport terminals across the US. Apart from guns, knives or aerosol, a lot of scissors end up in their recycling bin. Enter Christopher Locke, an artist who figured out he could actually use scissors to create creepy sculptures of […]
Artist Makes Stunning Sculptures from Shattered CDs
Instead of throwing away old CDs, like most of us do, Sean Avery transforms them into incredible sculptures he classifies as sustainable art. Sure, you’ve seen CDs used as decorations before, but I assure you, they’re nothing like what this man makes. Pieces of shattered CDs are pretty hard to work with when you’re trying […]
The Orchestra of Recycled Instruments
This group not only plays music, but builds the instruments from scrap. That’s right, they make their ‘recycled’ instruments out of things like kitchen spatulas and cookie cutters. Their music, nonetheless, is wonderful to listen to. The Orchestra of Recycled Instruments is from Paraguay, a majority of them so poor that they had to resort […]
Shijiao – Where Christmas Lights Go to Die
Ever wonder what happens to Christmas lights once you toss out into the trash at the end of every holiday season? Turns out a lot of things are made from them, including slipper soles. Shijiao, in China, has been designated as the world’s capital for recycling old and unusable Christmas tree lights that are thrown […]
Russian Couple Build Their Own Fairy Tale Castle
A retired couple from the suburbs of Artyom, Russia have worked for 16 years transforming an ordinary house into a fairy tale castle, using only junk materials found on the street and at a local landfill. They might be pensioners, but Alexey and Valentina Krivov don’t consider themselves too old for fairy tales. They didn’t […]
Artist Creates Self-Portrait with Thousands of Plastic Bottle Caps
Chicago-based artist Mary Ellen Croteau has created an astounding self-portrait using thousands of recycled plastic bottle caps. Mary Ellen Croteau considers herself a political artist who uses her works to make statements and get people to look at things from a different perspective. This time she wanted viewers to acknowledge the presence of bottle caps […]