Young designers join the Plastic Revolution
What can you make from recycled plastic?
Quite a lot, as Nottingham Trent University Product Design students Joe Manning and Joe Baskill discovered during their eight week internship with Future Makers.
Both joined us as part of their BA Product Design studies, having previously heard about Future Makers through Toby, a former intern. Their time with us opened their eyes to both the scale of the waste problem and the possibilities of giving discarded materials a new life.
Image left to right: Joe Manning, Joe Baskill in front of Future Makers studio in Nottingham
A big part of their experience was discovering just how much work happens before recycled materials can become new products.
It’s really eye opening, disassembling a whole mechanism and thinking fully about the recyclability of a design. Does it really need to have all these different plastic type components? Joe Manning.
Joe and Joe sorted, cut and prepared all of the discarded inflatables in our workshop, creating a clear inventory of the materials and preparing fabric for our textile technicians to work with. It was a hands-on lesson in the time, effort and creativity involved in processing products after they've reached the end of their original life.
It’s a really good feeling when you see the new product and know that you've contributed to the recycling process. Joe Baskill
Alongside this work, both put their product design skills into practice. Joe Manning experimented with recycled plastic to create light shades, while Joe Baskill designed tops for discarded barrels, turning them into new seats and tables.
For both, the internship has changed the way they think about product design, materials and recyclability.
A thank you to Joe and Joe
A big thank you to Joe Manning and Joe Baskill for their creativity and contribution to Future Makers. Their creative designs show what's possible with recycled materials.
Interested in developing or commissioning one of their designs? Get in touch at hello@future-makers.co.uk.
That's what the Plastic Revolution is about: giving young people the opportunity to get hands-on with waste, understand the challenges of processing it and discover the creative possibilities that come from giving materials a second life.
Because recycling isn't just about what a material becomes. It's about everything we do to make that new life possible.