As Old as Plastic
Ana Sofia Murillo Cernicchiaro
Plastic lies everywhere around us. You’re probably always about three feet from some sort of plastic product: your laptop cover, your pen, hairbrush, toothbrush, hanger, not to mention the single use plastic products like a PET water bottle, a plastic bag, or a yogurt cup. So why aren’t we more informed about it?
As Old as Plastic was inspired on research about ocean plastic cleanup, social practice, and art as an agent for change. The project consists of a manual and an agenda to help the user help the environment by recycling correctly. Some items have compound or confusing materials — the manual makes it easy to look up material visually and find out the right way to dispose of it. The waste agenda is interactive, and invites the user to pay more attention to what he or she is doing when recycling. It helps the user feel like recycling is less of a task and more of an activity that he or she can feel good about. It also makes the information easier to read by using real images of products that relate to the ones that they might own.
A truly waste-free lifestyle is not something most people can commit to. This recycling manual and waste agenda shows people how to make a few small changes that can be very impactful when done correctly.