Unwrapping CMF Design on Rebirth with Recycled Plastic 拆招CMF設計談回收塑膠的涅槃重生

[ 彩材拆拆 x ?????? ??? ]
??.?? ?????????? ??? ?????? ?? ??????? ?? ???????? ???????
Ch.39 拆招CMF設計談回收塑膠的涅槃重生

^{CMF is a specific discipline within industrial design that focuses on the development of a product’s color, material, and finish. Unwrap CMF writes about little stories of CMF Design for those who are interested in learning more about this niche field. Comments and inspirations are welcome!}

In recent years, recycled plastic has been the hype in circular design trend. Global brands are actively introducing recycled plastics into new products, as well as material studios and non-profit organizations promoting the application of recycled plastics, both contributing to extending the lifecycle of plastics.

There is a theory that Stan Turing, the inventor of plastic, originally designed plastic for its unique property of reusability, but the end result was not what Turing expected. Due to the accessibility of raw materials and flexibility of manufacturing processes, plastics became widely used in the making of disposable products, such as plastic bags, disposable tableware, packaging, and more.

Tracing back to Turing’s intention in the first place, the longevity nature of plastics is now becoming an attraction for circular design advocates to explore “upcycling” opportunities beyond conventional applications.

Similar to the introduction of any new material, the recycled plastic industry is connected to “sourcing” and “application” at both ends. For example, Smile Plastics from UK and Plasticiet from Netherlands both recycle used plastic products as large as household appliances like refrigerators, and as small as packaging, shredding them and reproduce into sturdy plastic panels that can be used by clients in interior spaces, like chest drawers and countertops. In Taiwan, Dot Design recycles old toys, shredding and molding them into stools for kids. Korres, a skincare brand from Greece, features a Recycle Lab in their New York store, where customers are encouraged to bring used cosmetic bottles for recycling. They then shred these bottles, and via injection molding, produces functional parts such as drawer handles and hair combs.

Plastic recycling is no longer a boring subject. As seen on the skateboards by Waste Boards made with bottle caps, and the speakers by Gomi made with plastic bags, via these terrazzo-looking and swirl patterns, recycled plastic showcases its potential for being cool and trendy.

And there is more! Non-profit organizations and volunteers around the world, including but not limited to Precious Plastic, Sparkling Plastic, Taiwanderful Recycling, all contribute to transforming plastic wastes and marine debris into building materials, park benches, accessories, and more. While giving new life to plastic waste, these actions also promote environment awareness to the public.

While sourcing and application may have been figured out, recycled plastics doesn’t come without facing any technical limitation. As shown on the bottom of bottles, plastics come in diverse types and properties. Due to the varying melting temperatures of different plastic types, bulk recycled plastics may deform during injection molding, and therefore not suitable for environments where dramatic temperature change may occur, such as kitchenware or electronic products that heat up easily.

This implies that in order to use recycled plastics on high-precision electronic products, filtered recycling is required. That means the specification of plastic types to be recycled, exclusion of plastic waste with topcoat, and so forth. Despite the troublesome efforts, an increasing number of consumer electronic products are already using different proportions of recycled plastic in their production. We might not be aware, as matter of fact, major brands are actively and diligently working towards incorporating recycled plastic into their products. As a brand, a CMF Designer, or simply as a consumer, we can all work together in the continuous effort in protecting our precious environmental ?

^{Notes: Content created by ?????? ??? and published in collaboration with Sustainable Design Platform.}

Continue reading:
Ch20. Unwrapping CMF Design on Sustainable Material Library
Ch23. Unwrapping CMF Design on From Eco-Friendliness to Sustainability
Ch36. Unwrapping CMF Design on the Long Journey of Material Development – PETSPUN®
Ch41. Unwrapping CMF Design on Design Thinking for Sustainability

^{CMF為Color Material and Finishing，譯為色彩、材質、及表面處理工藝，屬於工業設計旗下重要的一環。Unwrap CMF（彩材拆拆）將圍繞著這個主題，以淺而易懂的小故事拆解 CMF設計師的日常。}

近年來，回收塑膠已成為循環設計趨勢的主要應用之一。全球品牌積極在新品中引入回收塑料，也有初創的材料工作室和非營利組織持續推廣回收塑膠的再生利用，延續塑膠的生命週期。

有一種說法認為，塑膠的發明者斯坦‧圖林最初設計塑膠是為了其可重複使用的特性，然而最終結果卻未如圖林預期。由於原材料易取得且製程靈活，導致塑膠被廣泛用於生產一次性用品，如塑膠袋、免洗餐具、包裝等。

然而，回到圖林的初衷，塑膠實際上擁有不易腐壞的耐久特性，使許多關注循環設計的團體開始探索不同以往的再生應用。

就像任何新材質的初登場，回收塑膠的產業鏈兩端分別連接「材料來源」以及「應用方式」。例如，英國的Smile Plastics和荷蘭Plasticiet回收大至家電廢棄品如冰箱、小至廢棄包裝等，將其切碎再製成板材，供各行業的客戶製作成抽屜櫃、桌面等室內設計用材。台灣的點睛設計則將淘汰的塑膠玩具回收，進行切碎再射出成型，製成兒童椅。希臘的Korres保養品品牌的紐約門市設有小型回收設備，鼓勵顧客帶來用完的美妝瓶瓶罐罐，將之切碎再以模具製成功能性零件，如梳子或展櫃的把手。

回收塑膠不再是嚴肅無趣的議題，無論是Waste Boards利用瓶蓋再製的滑板，或是Gomi利用塑膠袋再製的音響，透過仿水磨石顆粒或混色的視覺特色，回收塑膠也有成為酷炫潮牌的潛力。

此外，世界各地有許多非營利組織如Precious Plastic、Sparkling Plastic、Taiwanderful Recylcing等，藉由各種塑膠廢料或志工淨灘取得的海洋廢棄物，轉化成建材、公園長椅、家居小物等，為廢棄塑膠賦予新生命的同時，也向大眾宣導環境保護的反思。

即使疏通了材料來源和應用方式，回收塑膠還要面臨其技術侷限。正如瓶罐底下標註的PET、PVC、PP等所示，塑膠種類繁多，其融化溫度和性能各不相同。未指定分類的回收塑膠在射出成型時會產生變形，也不適合應用在急遽溫差的場景，例如廚具或電能產品。

這也意味著，若想將回收塑膠應用於精密科技產品，就需要設定嚴格的回收標準，明確塑膠類別，並排除已上漆的塑膠品。儘管難度增高，但實際上有越來越多科技產品已使用了不同比例的回收塑膠作為其材料，在我們看不到的角落，各大品牌都在默默耕耘著回收塑膠的應用，一起為環境保護盡心盡力?

^{註：本文由彩材拆拆?????? ???製作，並與永續設計平台聯名發布。}