Unblocking the Circular Economy

Simon Scott-Harden*, Stuart English, Ali Skanda, Leonard Schurg, Katharina Elleke, Ben Morison

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

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    Abstract

    There is a blockage in the Circular Economy. Discarded plastic products end up in the Indian Ocean where thousands of tonnes of waste plastic is washed up on the beaches of East Africa. This creates a detrimental impact on both the marine ecosystem and the economy where the locals rely on coastal fishing, trade and tourism for their livelihoods.

    Plastic comes ashore in many forms and is badly degraded by the elements such that when processed locally, the quality of the recycled material cannot meet the needs of the community. The researchers worked with shoreline communities to help develop a processing method capable of giving waste plastic a valuable second life. As a demonstration of the potential of this new recycled material they constructed a traditional dhow sailing boat entirely from plastic trash collected from Kenya’s beaches and towns. During its 500 kilometre maiden voyage from Lamu in Kenya to Zanzibar in Tanzania, the researchers stopped at communities along the way to change mindsets about plastic waste.

    This paper practically demonstrates how an environmentally and economically damaging waste problem can be re envisaged as a valuable resource that supports the local and regional economy and unblocks the circular economy in the shoreline communities of East Africa.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationDesign revolutions: IASDR 2019 Conference Proceedings. Volume 1: Change, Voices, Open.
    EditorsMartyn Evans, Annie Shaw, Jea Na
    Place of PublicationManchester
    PublisherManchester Metropolitan University Press
    Pages296-309
    Number of pages16
    ISBN (Electronic)9781910029596
    Publication statusPublished - 2 Nov 2020
    EventInternational Association of Societies of Design Research Conference 2019: Design Revolutions - Manchester School of Art, Manchester, United Kingdom
    Duration: 2 Sept 20195 Sept 2019
    https://iasdr2019.org

    Conference

    ConferenceInternational Association of Societies of Design Research Conference 2019
    Abbreviated titleIASDR 2019
    Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
    CityManchester
    Period2/09/195/09/19
    Internet address

    Keywords

    • Circular Economy
    • Design Innovation
    • Dhow
    • Plastic Recycling

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    • FlipFlopi Dhow

      Scott-Harden, S. (Designer), Morison, B. (Developer), Skanda, A. (Developer), Pabari, D. (Developer), Ngaruiya, S. (Other), Wangari Mungai, L. (Other), Schürg, L. (Developer), Mthembu, S. (Developer), Gitari, B. (Developer), Houben, N. (Developer) & Radia, S. (Developer), 1 Dec 2017

      Research output: Non-textual formArtefact

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