the french creative lab, waste is more, has built ‘the big wav(st)e’ pavilion as part of the ‘festival des architectures vives’ in montpellier, france. in an effort to raise awareness of plastic pollution, the installation uses large, 5 liter-capacity water jugs found in hospitals, to form the arch-like structure. using the recycled material as construction bricks, the team has constructed 14 self supporting arches assembled together in a wave pattern, all the while highlighting the possible uses of the currently un-recycled plastic.

'the big wav(st)e' uses recycled water jugs to raise awareness of plastic pollution in france designboom
all images courtesy of waste is more

 

 

due to paper labels stuck onto the water jugs – making the vessels expensive to recycle – the team discovered that most of the 10 thousand cans being produced each year, per hospital, were ending up in landfill. ignited by this fact, they collected more than 500 jugs in just 1 month and using these, were able to form the large installation, highlighting society’s gross misuse of plastic. 

'the big wav(st)e' uses recycled water jugs to raise awareness of plastic pollution in france designboom

the big wav(st)e from above

 

 

in light of this project, the team are now in touch with the company making the plastic jugs in an effort to convince them to print labels directly onto the plastic, in order to create a sustainable circular model for their products. with ‘the big wav(st)e’, the designers aim to help contribute towards a significant change in this industrial field and essentially, raise public awareness of the issue.

'the big wav(st)e' uses recycled water jugs to raise awareness of plastic pollution in france designboom

tons of plastic could be easily recycled with a simple industrial process shift – printing labels directly onto the plastic

'the big wav(st)e' uses recycled water jugs to raise awareness of plastic pollution in france designboom
translucent plastic bricks

'the big wav(st)e' uses recycled water jugs to raise awareness of plastic pollution in france designboom

making the arches – more than 500 cans were collected in just 1 month

'the big wav(st)e' uses recycled water jugs to raise awareness of plastic pollution in france designboom

the big wav(st)e was built to raise awareness during the ‘festival des architectures vives’ in montpellier, france

'the big wav(st)e' uses recycled water jugs to raise awareness of plastic pollution in france designboom
the arches are self supporting, the thin sheets are only there to reinforce horizontal torsion

'the big wav(st)e' uses recycled water jugs to raise awareness of plastic pollution in france designboom
experiencing the big wav(st)e

 

 

project info:

 

project name: ‘the big wav(st)e’

location: festival des architectures vives, montpellier, france

design: waste is more

 

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

 

edited by: lynne myers | designboom