Waste Age Highlights

Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama has created a new large-scale sculptural and video installation exposing the dumping of European electronic and digital waste in Africa. From circuit boards and electric cables to phones and printers, much of this waste used to end up at Agbogbloshie in Accra, a vast scrapyard and marketplace for processing and trading e-waste. The installation highlights the economic opportunities created by this complex community but also hazardous working conditions, with little protective equipment being used despite chronic water and air pollution.

Explore the unseen industrial landscape through the work of Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky. His bird’s-eye views reveal the impact of human activity on the natural world, from vast landfill sites that show piles of plastic and expose the scale of our waste production, to enormous open scars where rare earth minerals are mined for the manufacture of our devices and batteries. The exhibition includes four photographs from Burtynsky’s Anthropocene series.

The Sony Design Centre Europe, created an interactive installation aimed at connecting visitors with the

hidden life of a forest. By focusing on the fungi, mycorrhizal structures and other micro-organisms on the forest floor, we get a visceral experience of a Rich world where things grow and rot, and where the circle of life revolves. As the visitor moves across the screen, this organic life lights up in sync with her movement, accompanied by a responsive soundtrack by sound artist Mergrim.

A pioneer of sustainable high-end fashion, Stella McCartney has consistently developed and championed ways to reduce the environmental impact of her designs. Visitors will see designs such as the ‘No Waste Dress’ – from repurposed excess printed stock from nine different previous collections – alongside ECONYL® Jacket and Trousers made using regenerated nylon from fishing nets and factory waste (pictured) and more.

There are lifestyle changes to be made for a waste free future – are you willing to make them?

Visit a fictitious fast-food outlet, where London food waste is used to fertilise or feed future food sources. This interactive proposal creates a circular system of food production and food waste to reduce the food industry’s environmental impact.

Did you know that only 9% of the world’s total plastic waste is recycled? Snøhetta converts plastic waste from Norwegian fishing companies into new furniture, like this chair made entirely from discarded fishing nets. The surface pattern captures the flow of the liquid plastic and evokes the swirl of the breaking waves, making a visual connection to recycled fishing nets and ropes. Connecting this waste stream to a nearby manufacturer also increases the incentive to gather and recycle rather than abandon used fishing equipment.

This column, made from discarded takeaway coffee cups, acts as a building material. The cups are digested by mycelium, the root network of fungi, and converted into a biological paste that can be 3D printed. Transforming waste into construction materials helps to deal with the 30,000 tonnes of coffee cups discarded in the UK each year that cannot be recycled due to their plastic lining.

Break down popular products into their base components in this ongoing research project by Studio DRIFT, a multidisciplinary studio that takes everyday items and investigates what materials they are made of. From a vacuum cleaner and a Nokia mobile phone to a deconstructed Volkswagen Beetle car – the quantity of each, from greatest to smallest, is represented as a rectangular block.

Currently, the UK offers no textile-recycling facilities or incentives to reuse textile waste. Phoebe English developed her ‘fragment textile’ technique to use off-cuts from her own studio textile waste back into new work. Experimenting with stitching techniques and zero-waste pattern-cutting, English captures scraps of fabric between layers of silk organza to create new clothes.

Uncover the possibilities of repair and reuse with the world’s first multi-purpose mouldable glue. Sugru Mouldable Glue remains flexible when set and sticks permanently to lots of materials like glass, ceramic, wood, metal and most plastics; encouraging less waste, the glue can mend a broken pair of glasses, fix a fraying charger cable or give a ceramic bowl a new lease of life.