Then someone from a recycling company would drive by and pick them up. We never knew what happened to them. My idea for this cradle-to-cradle assignment would be to come up with some type of company that bought plain cardboard boxes and made them into household decorating objects such as picture frames, shelving, or even rugs. Currently picture frames and inexpensive shelving are made up of plastic and are mostly just imitating wood. So why not take cardboard boxes, something this is just thrown away or broken down and make it into items we are already going to buy? From experience it seems like there are more boxes being made then recycled. I got this idea from our reading Waste Equals Food when Henry Ford implemented taking the shipping crates and turning them into the floorboards of his cars. There a number of websites out there that tell or show people how to take cardboard and make into to something.
But no manufacturing companies at the moment. Another great thing about cardboard is that it is decomposable over time and, according to the video Rhoener Textiles making sure products from the beginning can be out back into the Earth as food is what manufacturing companies need to start doing. Once people no longer need their items then they can easily disassemble them (without sending it back to the company) and put in down (shredded or not) in their garden as a way to separate weeds fom the new soil you put down and to act as mulch (this I learned from my Nana who learned it from her dad).
images from:
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/cardboardmulch#b
Hi, Lindsey;
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting idea! My questions would be, are there implications for what this cardboard can be made of to ensure it is non-toxic and therefore, compostable? Also, have you thought about the third life, continuing the C2C cycle? In other words, after you remake, what happens to the item that is the result of reuse -- when it, too, is at the end of its life? Think about these things that can keep the C2C going as we go into next week. Have a good weekend!
Lindsey,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading about your idea of recycling cardboard boxes! I think that is one of the most disposable materials that is wasted everyday especially in the retail industry. I am curious on how a rug can be made out of a box and still be of decent quality? How might manufacturers for home decorating companies implement this idea to appeal to consumers?
Lindsey,
ReplyDeleteGreat idea. I think you choose one of the most highly overused products in this industry to upcycle. Do you think you can also apply this concept to paper bags?
Dr, Armstrong, when making new products from the cardboard it can't have that waxing coating on it because that makes the cardboard harder to decompose.
ReplyDeleteLarissa, sometimes we would receive shipments with shedded up cardboard used as cushion. My idea was that using the cardboard shredded then weaving or braid the pieces together would create a durable rug. I think so many people are into the bags made of old feed sacks or the coin purses made of coke can tabs that getting retailers to buy it wouldn't be so hard.
Olivia, I theirs paper bags they are less durable but I think we could incorporate them into the designs. They are also decomposable which is good!
Lindsey,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your idea because I also experienced numerous amounts of cardboard being discarded during my internship. Do you think that cardboard could be used to create other things?