Waste=Food

Waste=Food Response

Jack hoard

            I have always had an interest in designing after nature. The natural world has had 4 billion years to learn innumerable ways to be an efficient part of an ever-changing system. It is this concept that inspired the title of the film “Waste=Food.” In the natural world it is very rare to see a byproduct or “waste” that is not an immediate factor in maintaining the survival of a species or ecosystem, often times directly as food.

It is only humans that create such outlandish and varying types of waste, and subsequently damage environments greatly. It is a sad fact our consumer based economies and societies will most likely continue to accelerate the amount of waste that they produce. All is not lost however. We just need to redirect out profit minded systems to recognize that waste is ultimately lost profit. Almost all waste can be reduced, altered, refined, or reused so that it becomes a viable part of either the biosphere or technosphere in a way that benefits industry, whether through reducing taxed carbon footprint, increasing worker moral, reducing energy cost, or making businesses more self sufficient. Effectively, waste can become food for business.

            Businesses following this “Inteligent Product System”  can make huge difference in the amount of waste humans produce, and the way we utilize resources. Currently we use up an estimated 4-6,000 times as much topsoil as we replenish through all types of industrial processes. Our current use of raw material is incredibly inefficient. one example being that it can take as much as 50,000 lbs of raw materials to create a 3,000 lb car. Thankfully, companies like Nike are  adopting smarter and more efficient systems in the hope of  being waste free by the year 2020.

 

  Some general methods for attaining goals such as this are:

·      Green roofs: reduce energy costs in winter and summer, naturally filters and uses rainwater that would become industrial runoff, creates habitat for native species, naturally cleans the air, drastically increases the life of the roof.

·      Responsible sourcing: for instance in the textile industry, buying biodegradable fibers, and eco-friendly dyes makes product waste easier to recycle, and if it is not able to be used as textile it can be sold to farmers as organic, biodegradable top soil protection and nutrient infuser.

·      Designing “Cradle to Cradle”:  Designing products to be more easily assembled and disassembled with reusable, non-toxic material creates more flexible business models, and a product people are more likely to recycle

·      Natural Insutrial Parks:  filling open space in industrial parks with the native ecosystem not only provides habitat for species, but improves employee morale and helps to brand the business with a more sustainable image.

Watching “Waste=food” has made me less pessimistic about the consumerist culture in which we make and sell goods. I am interested in designing for more sustainable systems and my view has been broadened to looking at how those systems can be built from the ground up, using existing infrastructure. Learning a few specific tactics that are being employed most effectively helps to guide my design process to fit what will surely become common industrial practices, if not from the success of others than through necessity.