Contact lens cases, vegetable vases and pill packets are some glass objects by students at Lund University in Sweden to explore how the reusable could help the transition to a circular economy.
The resulting 31 designs were presented at the Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair as part of an exhibition called Transparent.
Sebastian Eriksson's glass contact lens case is designed to outlive its disposable plastic counterparts
Items ranging from food and drink packaging, to cosmetics and building materials, have been made from glass in collaboration with a team of expert glassblowers.
Reusable glass vials for pills can replace disposable blister packs, while glass tiles could replace the plastic used to insulate wires.
Jaxon Pope's refillable vials offer an alternative to classic blister packs "Glass has two main selling points in a cyclical system: its longevity and its recyclability," said Lund University student Riccardo Centazzo."It is an impermeable material with high corrosion and temperature resistance that can also be exceptionally hard."
He added: "It can be produced using widely available resources, melted down and endlessly re-formed to make new products without a substantial loss of material or quality."
The polymers in plastic, on the other hand, degrade a little every time they are recycled, meaning they need to be mixed with new, virgin plastic to remain viable.
An aroma diffuser designed by William Theorell can be filled and re-fill...