So-called ?waste? plastic still has the potential for long-term functionality after it?s used, so why do we allow so much of it to end up in our landfills and oceans" Instead of further contributing to the serious environmental problem of plastic pollution, we could be sending plastic bottles, packaging, and other household waste right back into the production cycle to create brand new objects.

Perhaps it doesn?t help that most of us see recycling as something that happens in a faraway facility, out of our own view and participation. Could interactive initiatives that call for public input and put the recycling process on display spark enthusiasm and make people feel like they had a more personal stake in the circular economy"
That?s what Dutch creative collective The New Raw hopes will happen as a result of their ?Print Your City!” project, which uses large-scale 3D printing to turn plastic waste into public furniture that everyone can use. The initiative invites citizens to contribute their own plastic waste, design their own custom street furniture, and participate in the process of bringing it to life. There?s something to be said about the satisfaction of watching your own creation take shape, especially when you?re benefiting the environment at the same time.

Previously, Print Your City! rallied the residents of Amsterdam to transform their raw materials into a recycled plastic bench called the XXX. The designers came up with the shape of the unusua...