Tag: Circular Design

This is what makes every Wavy Table unique

Posted on by Jasmijn Tuit

Just as no wave in the ocean is the same, every Wavy Table is unique in it’s shape. This side table made of packaging material, is created with a special technique. The Wavy Table is a so-called parametric design. It offers us the possibility to digitally adjust the design before printing. Sounds complicated? Let us take you through the process.

This is what makes every Wavy Table unique

In an age of mass production, consumers seek something unique for their homes. The Wavy Table makes this possible in a very efficient way. Unlike various recycling methods, the start-up costs for a customized design are low. We can digitally adjust the parametric design to your wishes. Our 3D models are programmed with adaptable sliders. Every time we produce, we adjust the sliders. As a result, the 3D model changes and a different design is exported. In other words, no Wavy Table is the same.


Not only is every Wavy Table unique, the design is completely circular. For example, let’s say after a number of years you’re fed up with your Wavy Table. No problem. We can get you a new design, using the same material. Simply return the Wavy Table to our workshop. From here, we reshred the material and print a brand new piece of furniture. 

Want your own unique Wavy table? Click here to go to our webshop. 

The power of one

Posted on by Jasmijn Tuit

The power of one

Often people think of environmental issues as too big to be able to make a difference as an individual. Artist Peter Smith is on a mission to change this mindset. We meet him in his workshop, where he tells us all about the philosophy behind his work: ‘the power of one’.

The World of Litter

Strangely enough, nobody saw plastic waste as an environmental issue before the year of 2012. But Peter Smith did. To raise awareness on this issue and “to enter the ports of the media like Odysseus once entered the ports of Troy”, he created an artwork in the shape of a globe, made of litter. It was a great success. The ‘World of litter’ generated 10 million media impressions and traveled through other cities in the Netherlands subsequently.

No act is too small to make a difference

For many organisations in the Netherlands, the ‘World of Litter‘ played a role in the process of acknowledging that plastic waste is a big issue for the environment. But that wasn’t enough. To really make a change in people’s mindset, Peter Smith dived into the philosophy behind the problem. “The issue is that many people believe their input is too small to make a difference. To me, the complete opposite is true. Like the flap of a butterfly’s wings, a small act can cause a hurricane of change. That’s why the logo of our foundation KLEAN is a butterfly with somewhat a hurricane inside.”



Minor effort, major effect

Picking up one piece of litter is a minor effort, but if everyone would do it – the effect would be major. Peter Smith even calculated that if 1 out of 4 people in the Netherlands pick up just one piece of litter a day, the litter problem seized to exist. That’s why Peter Smith asked people to pick up just one plastic bottle and send it to his workshop. With this, he received 100.000 littered bottles – a total of 2500 kilos of plastic. Smith will transform this amount of litter into an art piece:

“Again, it will be a Trojan Horse but this time a secret army will be hidden inside. The army consists of children who we will inform before hand on the story behind the statue. We provide them with enough ammunition in the form of arguments why it is important to pick up just one piece of litter every day. The most important argument will be: You do it out of love for your children.The idea is that the artwork will travel though the Netherlands, making a stop in every big city.”


The goal

The artwork will have the shape of a mother breastfeeding her baby to make people aware of the fact that plastic waste ends up in our food chain. The goal of the artwork is to change a mindset that not only causes the plastic waste problem but also affects the entire quality of life on our planet:

“It’s difficult to recapture the CO2 emissions of your neighbouror to ensure that your neighbour will eat lessmeat. But it’s very easy to clean up one piece of litter that someone else has dropped. If only 25%of the Dutchwould do so, we would save about 250 million Euro – the amount we currently spend on civil servants cleaning up litter. However, the most important thing for me is that people realise that their small actions do have an impact. That’s what I call the Power of One.”

The biggest 3D printed statue in the world

Peter Smith’s art piece won’t be just an art piece, it will be the biggest 3D printed statue in the world. Guess who’s 3D printing this piece? Yep, we are! About a year ago, we started to print the first pieces. The Plastic Madonna is going to be 12 meters long, so we are printing it in separate parts. We started with the feet, pictured above. Once all the pieces are connected, the Plastic Madonna will travel though the Netherlands, stopping in the biggest cities. In every city, Smith will organise lectures and events. Want to be a part of this project? Check the website.

3D printing a better future together

Posted on by Jasmijn Tuit

3D printing a better future together

We love to join forces with likeminded companies. This time we teamed up with sustainable product design studio, Better Future Factory. Alike us, they specialised in recycling waste and turning it into new products. Together, we created a series of objects for AVR – a company that converts residual waste.

The Better Future Factory is well known for their product New Marble – tiles with a marble look made from recycled plastic bottles. In the very same year, they launched the packaging design for sustainable perfume RUIK. Among their product range are also chopsticks created from plastic collected from the ocean and many more innovative projects. To learn more about their work, check the website.

Better Future Factory from PET bottles to plastic sheet

From design to 3D printed product

This project kicked off at the head quarters of the Better Future Factory, where the designs where made. Afterwards, we brought the designs to life using our 3D printer. The several objects we created will have a place in a showroom at AVR, surrounded by objects created by other circular designers. AVR is specialised in converting residual waste into energy and raw materials for households and businesses.

Table made from plastic bottles

Drawing inspiration from it’s resource material, one of the objects is a table which contains the shape of many plastic bottles and the tabletop is made from recycled glass. Among the objects where also a laptop stand, a lectern, and several stools. The stools carry a special story, as the top is created by design studio PLANQ. As part of their project Rezign, they turned old pairs jeans into a new material. Both comfy and circular – what else could we wish for?

To sum it all up: a successful collaboration of which we hope many more will follow. Keep an eye on these fellow young pioneers!

You think your plastic waste is useless? Not according to our experts!

Posted on by Jasmijn Tuit

The first Expert meet-up was a great success. The event was part of the Social Tech Tour organized by research institute De Waag; a series of site visits to innovative, tech-enabled social enterprises. It was the first meet-up in the series of events on our research project “van Plestik, your own plastic“.

From all over the city, experts in the field of circular design came together to exchange ideas. Among the experts were Fabeel Butt (HEMA), Bob Vos (Polimeer) and Charissa Koolen (Institute for Sustainable Packaging). The first edition was all about the following question:

How do we maximize the impact of small sustainable initiatives such as vanPlestik?

The value of plastic

After all experts had arrived, Socrates Schouten, head of Commons Lab of the Waag, opened the evening with a short introduction about the Social Tech Tour. After Socrates had introduced himself, it was time for the rest of the group to briefly tell something about themselves. Not only did all experts have to share their name and job title, but also had to tell the group about the only plastic item they would never want to get rid of. For example, Nout would never throw away a small plastic dinosaur that he got from his girlfriend during one of their first dates. This proved that plastic can certainly be of great value for people and is more than just a disposable material.



From a bad idea to a brilliant solution

After this introduction, Nout told the group of experts all about the origin of vanPlestik and the ‘vanPlestik, your own plastic‘ project. Then Sam took over with a tour through the workshop. After the tour it was time to get started with a brainstorm. The experts were divided into three groups: longterm partnerships, (circular) business modelling or communication / awareness.

Each group formulated a problem statement from a different angle via the reversed brainstorming technique. Instead of coming up with solutions for a problem, this technique is ought to create ideas to make the problem worse. This results in absurd plans that stimulate the creativity of the participants. By the means of short sketches of ten seconds each group came to their ‘worst idea’. Afterwards this idea was inverted into a good idea, that was pitched to the entire group of experts.


So, what brilliant solutions did the experts come up with?

Let’s return to the main question of the evening; ‘How do we maximize the impact of small sustainable initiatives such as vanPlestik?’ With the imput of the experts, we have gotten a little closer to answering this question. For instance, during the brainstorming session, the communication / awareness group came to the conclusion that “placing someone on the corner of the street that shouts to people that plastic is of great value” is a bad idea. A no brainer, because it’s impossible to reach a big and targeted audience this way. The idea was therefore converted into a more realistic plan. The experts in this group recommend vanPlestik to collaborate with partners with a large following. “Create interactive campaigns” was their advice. Perhaps aimed at children, because those are the ones who will determine the future.

In addition, the group ‘longterm partnerships’ came up with the idea for a consumer loyalty program to create more interaction with the customer. Consumers or businesses could contribute their waste to vanPlestik and in return get recycled products made from their waste. Conclusion: enough food for thought for us!

Want to be a part of the next Expert meet-up?

Working together with the experts has been really inspiring and gave us a lot of new insights. We are already looking forward to the next Expert meet-up, which will take place in June. Do you consider yourself an expert in the field of circular design or do you want to become one? Keep an eye on our social media channels for more details!

‘vanPlestik, your own plastic’  is  a project made possible by: Stichting Afvalfonds, Stichting DOEN, KIDV, RWS, Polymer Science Park and Gemeente Amsterdam. 

Start Project: vanPlestik, your own plastic

Posted on by Jasmijn Tuit

vanPlestik has started a research project which we will continue to work on for one and a half year. During this project, we will develop a new model for converting plastic waste streams into valuable, circular products. We will do so in collaboration with the business sector.

We strive for a sustainable system in which the waste stream can be converted into products that contribute to a circular society via vanPlestik. As test cases, we research in collaboration with partner companies such as HEMA and Conscious Hotels, to find out which waste flows of plastic can be converted into new valuable products. Printing with various types of plastics is a complex technical challenge in which we are looking for new combinations between the printing technique and the properties of the plastic. The new products we produce from the residual flows of plastic can be used in the offices or stores of the companies we collaborate with.

Our challenges:
  • Develop a Circular model in which the waste stream can be converted into products that contribute to a circular society.
  • Creating new cooperation models with companies, building up logistics and a infrastructure for this.
  • Create showcases on how a company can contribute to the circular economy by converting their own waste into new useful products.
  • Develop new printing techniques that allow types of plastics which are common in the plastic waste (PET / PE / PP).
  • Inspire companies and consumers to participate in the circular economy.
Want to be a part of this?

In order to share our research and continue to learn from other companies, we organize three expert meet ups and three presentations. During every edition we discuss a specific problem / topic with experts from the field. The expert meet ups are organized in collaboration with our partners. Feel free to think along and share your knowledge.

This project is made possible by: Stichting Afvalfonds, Stichting DOEN, KIDV, RWS, Polymer Science Park and Gemeente Amsterdam.