Furniture made of recycled plastic and fabrics made from plastic bags are among winners of the Ro Plastic Prize competition.
German designer Alexander Schul won the design category of the contest set up by Milanese gallerist Rossana Orlandi, which challenged designers to develop new ways of recycling and reusing plastic.
Alexander Schul has made a chair, a lamp and a side table using recycled plastic
His Substantial furniture collection ? comprising a chair, a lamp and a side table ? is made entirely from recycled plastic.
Schul created the pieces using sheets of high-impact polystyrene. The designs are intended to be universal, practical and easily manufacturable on a large scale, using efficient production methods.
The designs are intended to be universal, practical and easily manufacturable "Considering the fact that only around 40 per cent of the plastic in Europe gets recycled, this design offers an opportunity to raise that percentage," said Schul. "Part of the problem could thus be transformed into added value."
Plastex is a line of colourful textiles made of reused plastic bags
Hend Riad and Mariam Hazem from Reform Studio won the home textiles category for their Plastex project ? a line of colourful textiles made of reused plastic bags.
By incorporating this material into everyday products such as stools and chairs, the studio hopes to realign the perception of plastic bags, not as trash, but rather as a valuable resource.
Reform Studio hopes...