Jars and Art

In my search for good ways to improve how everyone can be sustainable, I discovered articles on a family from San Francisco(The Johnson's) who literally creates only one jarful of trash a year. They take jars and refillable bags into stores and  uses them to buy and store cuts of meat and dry products at the grocery store. They also refuse products that come in packaging. This is the only amount of trash that the family has created in about a six month period. I think that this is going to become a lifestyle that more people will choose in the coming years. (If you want to read more about this family, here is the link http://earth911.com/news/2011/04/13/zero-waste-johnson-family/)

According to T.E. Graedel, who wrote Industrial Ecology, the concept of industrial ecology is basically the search for a balance between humanity and our surroundings. It is how people acheive industrial processes, extract resources, and then transform those resources into products that meet human needs. He also says that one of the most important factors in industrial ecology is that it rejects the creation of waste. He also hinted that overpopulation is part of the issue as well.

In the reading, How Will We Conduct Business, we also are told about industrial ecology and how manufacturers and humans in general should try to work with "substances that nature would recognize and be able to assimilate." I think that this is good good advice in some ways, although I do still favor synthetic fibers over most natural fibers. However, plastic is definitely one of those substances we should try to eliminate. I try to keep both of these readings in mind while coming up with an interior product I think would appeal to zero waste lifestyles.

I feel that a good concept would be to try and implement a grocery store section for people who have a lifestyle like the Johnson's. This section would be full of bulk food dispensers that people could get cereal, candy, or other dry foods from. There would also be glass jars full of condiments, peanut butter, and other commonly jarred items and they could be refilled for a certain, cheaper price next time the needed refilled. This lifestyle concept was not developed by me, but I envision that this is what grocery stores would do if this lifestyle does catch on. I think this is a shopping experience of the future if it does.

There were several good principles in the readings this week, but one that really stuck out to me was use waste as a resource. I would make sure any resource used in my product was directly from another product and kept in the recycling loop. Another principle that I think would be good for my product is get materials that have more than one end use. I think the main materials I would use would be wood and metal, wood and metal can be transformed into many different products with many different end uses. You can cut both materials into any shape and size you need' and you can also drill holes if need be as well. They are also very easy to re-purpose after each product use.

When deciding what would be a good interior product for these families who live the zero waste lifestyle, I thought it would be  fun to create them an art-piece that also serves as storage for their jarred goods. The art-piece would be a frame with shelves that would hang on the wall and would have lots of room for the jars on it. I drew a picture to show what it would look like and the frames could come in different sizes; although the shelves on it would be 5 inches deep. I imagine that the frame and the shelves would be from re-purposed or recycled frames and boards that come from unwanted furniture or anything being recycled.