Waste?
Strategic Design Interventions
Team
Samantha Piercy
June Bascaran
Claudia Bertoletti
Seher Krishna
Josephine bourghardt
Food is a fundamental aspect of human existence, serving as fuel, energy, and a connector of people. It plays a vital role in shaping identity, offering comfort, conveying status, and promoting healing.
The global urgency surrounding food is evident as food production contributes to over 25% of CO2 emissions, and inefficient agricultural practices deplete and contaminate 70% of fresh water annually. Consumer waste accounts for 42% of food wastage. In the context of exploitation, overconsumption, declining insect populations, animal welfare concerns, and obesity, the discussion around food encompasses its production, perceptions, consumption, and waste.
This project explores the topic of foodwaste through a series of interventions, co-creation events and material artefacts to explore the questions of - How can we change the perception we have of food and waste? How can we visualise and show the possibilities of the resource that it actually is? What wastestreams are in the food supply chain and where can we interact?
A first person perspective experience to understand direction through embodied action
We organised a collective cooking and dinner experience to create different dishes from what is considered food waste to learn and understand this perception and how it can be reduced and turned into a resource.
Through the experience, we learned about the challenges of saving and storing food waste and discovering new ways to use all parts of vegetables and other products that are usually considered as waste.
A creative hands-on way to learn about the topic of food waste and to find ways to reduce it, and by sharing the findings and recipes with others, we want to help to normalize the use of all parts of vegetables and other produce in cooking and encourage more sustainable practices.
We organised a collective cooking and dinner experience to create different dishes from what is considered food waste to learn and understand this perception and how it can be reduced and turned into a resource.
Through the experience, we learned about the challenges of saving and storing food waste and discovering new ways to use all parts of vegetables and other products that are usually considered as waste.
A creative hands-on way to learn about the topic of food waste and to find ways to reduce it, and by sharing the findings and recipes with others, we want to help to normalize the use of all parts of vegetables and other produce in cooking and encourage more sustainable practices.
An action to build trust & an experience to learn with and from others
We collaborated with Food Not Bombs Barcelona a volunteer group dedicated to providing free vegan meals to those in need. Food Not Bombs Barcelona operates globally, serving free vegan food and addressing food waste issues. In Barcelona, they collaborate with Veritas to collect discarded vegetables and cook meals for the community.
Through co-creation and cooking events to building trust within the community. While facing challenges in reaching homeless individuals, we learned valuable lessons in effective communication and community building.
Our experiences have led us to consider expanding collaborations, involving local neighbors in the cooking process, and finding sustainable solutions for single-use containers used for food delivery to the homeles.
We collaborated with Food Not Bombs Barcelona a volunteer group dedicated to providing free vegan meals to those in need. Food Not Bombs Barcelona operates globally, serving free vegan food and addressing food waste issues. In Barcelona, they collaborate with Veritas to collect discarded vegetables and cook meals for the community.
Through co-creation and cooking events to building trust within the community. While facing challenges in reaching homeless individuals, we learned valuable lessons in effective communication and community building.
Our experiences have led us to consider expanding collaborations, involving local neighbors in the cooking process, and finding sustainable solutions for single-use containers used for food delivery to the homeles.
A group activity to bring difficult topics to the table
Throughout the project we collaborated with a local restaurant collecting food waste from their kitchen to experiment with creating Bio Materials. This collaboration expanded as the restaurant expressed interest in the project. Together, we used food waste to raise awareness about the issue, organizing an event where the restaurant served dishes made from scraps that would typically be discarded. Interactive posters encouraged discussions on food waste, aiming to shift perceptions and promote mindful consumption. Despite time constraints mentioned by the restaurant, the event successfully sparked conversations, highlighting the potential for sustainability and waste reduction. The project emphasizes the value of integrating such practices into daily life for a more environmentally conscious future
Throughout the project we collaborated with a local restaurant collecting food waste from their kitchen to experiment with creating Bio Materials. This collaboration expanded as the restaurant expressed interest in the project. Together, we used food waste to raise awareness about the issue, organizing an event where the restaurant served dishes made from scraps that would typically be discarded. Interactive posters encouraged discussions on food waste, aiming to shift perceptions and promote mindful consumption. Despite time constraints mentioned by the restaurant, the event successfully sparked conversations, highlighting the potential for sustainability and waste reduction. The project emphasizes the value of integrating such practices into daily life for a more environmentally conscious future
Can technology help us see possibilities where we see waste? Can AI be used as a tool to see waste from new perspectives?
Using the YOLO9000 AI model by Studio Estampa, designed for automatic image annotation, we analyzed photos of waste and vegetable scraps to compare human perception with the AI's labeling. The model accurately identified objects in the photos, challenging the common human tendency to quickly label things as waste. During an event at El Doble restaurant and Design Dialogues, people described their interpretations, sparking discussions on waste reduction. The project raises questions about whether participants' responses were influenced by the project theme or if they genuinely perceived more possibilities in the photos. Regardless, any positive reflection promoting waste reduction is considered a successful outcome.
Using the YOLO9000 AI model by Studio Estampa, designed for automatic image annotation, we analyzed photos of waste and vegetable scraps to compare human perception with the AI's labeling. The model accurately identified objects in the photos, challenging the common human tendency to quickly label things as waste. During an event at El Doble restaurant and Design Dialogues, people described their interpretations, sparking discussions on waste reduction. The project raises questions about whether participants' responses were influenced by the project theme or if they genuinely perceived more possibilities in the photos. Regardless, any positive reflection promoting waste reduction is considered a successful outcome.
‘Materials on their own are not regenerative as such, but the way that we work with them and methods that we use can be regenerative.’ - Elsa Dagný Ásgeirsdóttir, Lead Creative Producer, SPACE10
Creating bio materials from food waste and experimenting with their properties for construction and tableware design.
We collaborated with local cafes and restaurants to collect their food waste and investigate the potential of these waste materials on a small scale, exploring possibilities for more sustainable everyday solutions.
Creating bio materials from food waste and experimenting with their properties for construction and tableware design.
We collaborated with local cafes and restaurants to collect their food waste and investigate the potential of these waste materials on a small scale, exploring possibilities for more sustainable everyday solutions.
Mapping environment & interactions. How can these places connect?
We created a comprehensive map detailing the various individuals, locations, and organizations we engaged with during interventions providing valuable insights into potential connections, synergies, and areas of impact within the city. It allowed us to reflect on where we could create the most value and identified strategic areas for future efforts.
We created a comprehensive map detailing the various individuals, locations, and organizations we engaged with during interventions providing valuable insights into potential connections, synergies, and areas of impact within the city. It allowed us to reflect on where we could create the most value and identified strategic areas for future efforts.
A space to share learnings and open source material as a local community
Through an online account the projects’ learnings and thoughts were actively shared for continuos feedback, educational and awareness content and a shared community platform for discussions and ideas about repairing local environments through symbiotic material design and the potential for materials to communicate value. Redefining relationships with waste and food, encouraging sustainable and regenerative practices.
A space to share and try local recipes using all parts of vegetables in season, content and facts about the impact of resource management. Sharing open source BioMaterial recipes with foodwaste that are accessible for all empowering citizens to learn and create with local materials. A space to share local events, talks and workshops about the topic that are accessible to the public. A space to reflect and share collective thoughts, ideas and learnings in an open and engaging way.
