plastics and the environment

One of the themes in our current exhibition, Seen and unseen , is Microplastics . I thought I would use this blog post to think about what microplastics are and why they are an issue. The case is particularly looking at microfibres which are shed from our clothing. Microplastics are released into...

One of the most widely used, and therefore recycled, item of packaging is probably the drinks bottle. The purpose of such a bottle is to, first and foremost, contain a liquid. It acts as a barrier between the drink and the outside world, as such, it prevents contamination and ensures that the drink...

At the end of June, I attended a fascinating conference held at the University of Portsmouth. PlasticsFuture 2023 was convened over three days and brought together speakers from across the world to present their research around, and experiences of, plastics pollution. The team behind the conference...

Decarbonisation is a theme in our current exhibition, Reuse . Carbon footprints are a measure of the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases released over the full life cycle of a product. They are notoriously difficult to assess because there are many factors that need to be considered...

The concept of Design for Disassembly was first introduced in the early 1990s. It advocates for the environment by recommending products be designed in such a way that they can be easily taken apart at the end of their useful life, with parts then either reused or recycled. In practice this could...

In 1995 Dyson launched the Recyclone, the first vacuum cleaner to be made entirely of recycled plastics (refer image below). The DC02 Recyclone Image credit: https://www.dyson.co.uk/james-dyson/invention-a-life/07 Initially the cleaners were made from waste materials of the DC01 and DC02...

Back in June 2022, I wrote a blog post about the touring exhibition Plastic: Remaking our world. At the time the exhibition was on display at Vitra Design Museum. I was lucky enough to meet with one of the curators, Charlotte Hale, and visit the exhibition when it was on display at V&A Dundee...

One of the cases in our current exhibition, Reuse , looks at the problems that black plastics have when it comes to the recycling system and therefore how the material is then reused. When products and packaging made of plastics enter the recycling system, they need to be separated into individual...

The collection of household plastics for recycling through the UK’s Local Authority bin collection service began exactly twenty years ago with the introduction of the 2003 Household Waste Recycling Act. Looking back, it now seems crazy that up until that point, we had all been throwing our plastics...

Since the introduction of the first disposable hot drinks cups by American company DART in the mid 20th century, the consumer has become used to the concept of single-use. Dart Manufacturing Company was established in 1937 in Mason, Michigan, USA making plastic key cases, steel tape measures and ID...

This week we have been busy taking down our last exhibition, Endurance , and installing our new exhibition, Reuse . We have been joined by one of our volunteers, MA Fine Art student Sourabh Sharma, seen in the images below emptying the cases and wrapping objects for their return to storage. Although...

Just before Christmas, MoDiP acquired a Bee Saviour Behaviour card (refer image below). The Bee Saviour Behaviour card shown front (top, left) and back (bottom, left) alongside packaging (right). Image credit: Katherine Pell It is an easy-to-carry bee rescue kit that contains a sugar solution which...