O2 recycle grass phone made from twickenham's rugby pitch clippings

O2 recycle grass phone made from twickenham’s rugby pitch clippings
images courtesy of O2 recycle

created in collaboration with designer sean miles, the O2 recycle ‘grass phone’ is formed from recovered parts and clippings from twickenham stadium’s pitch – the home of the england rugby team. the fully-functioning prototype is the UK’s first phone made from turf and supports the rugby football union’s (RFU) new social responsibility program ‘try for change’. it aims to motivate people to recycle their old devices, by showing how aged technology has the potential to be upcycled into a new, original and unique product.

‘we wanted to give the ‘old and forgotten’ a new lease of life and create a thought provoking prototype which would make people stop and think about recycling in a new and different way. the phone itself is incredibly striking and those who use it can pick out every blade of grass and imagine the incredible rugby games which have been played over them.’ said sean miles, designer at designworks.

‘by creating this phone we are demonstrating how two of O2’s passion points – rugby and O2 recycle – can come together, as a force for good.’ said bill eyres, head of sustainability at O2. ‘O2 recycle offers a simple, sustainable way to recycle unused gadgets and receive a cash payment in return whilst at the same time backing a great cause and recycling for rugby. we are calling on people across the country to recycle unwanted gadgets and help raise the £350,000 we have pledged to support the RFU’s ‘try for change’ social responsibility programme, aimed at promoting rugby as a powerful tool for social change.’

the prototype promotes upcycling of old technology

the manufacturing process took over 240 hours, combing tens of thousands of grass blades and locally-sourced wood for the buttons. the cuttings were freeze-dried before going through a pulping action and being molded into a template. once in the casing, the processed grass was covered in an eco-friendly resin, made from waste materials, hardening and bonding the clippings together in order to protect the inner mechanisms.

the pulped grass was molded into a casing template