#ASLOVES
E-Waste Innovation
This month #asloves the Common Sands Project glass tiles conceived by Snøhetta and Studio Plastique, manufactured by Fornace Brioni, recycling the glass from microwaves, ovens, and post-consumer electronic goods.
Due to the imperfections developed during use, and the inherent differences in primary applications, post-consumer electronic glass is very rarely recycled as it cannot be transparent. Common Sands Project pushes this to the forefront to develop a terrazzo-like surface that celebrates these imperfections, producing a mottled semi-translucent material in tile format. The tiles can be used in architecture and interior design applications, and their unique proposal will mine an ever-increasing primary source:
“Glass has material properties excellent for recycling, but EU directives on effectively processing glass from electronic waste (E-waste) do not currently exist. Sand is a finite resource, and as the volume of E-waste is increasing rapidly worldwide, we need strategies and solutions.”
The project is still in the ongoing prototype stages, but they have already developed two sizes for the tiles, and have the possibility of large scale production with their manufacturing partner Fornace Brioni, pending classification.
Photo credit: all images courtesy of snøhetta