NO WASTE CHALLANGE
The What Design Can Do, an internacional plattform that advocates for design as a tool for social change, launched on the 12th of January of 2021, in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, the No Wast Challange. The No Waste Challange is a design competition with the goal of getting radical solutions to effectively reduce waste.
Here is the What Design Can Do press release about the competition:
Our planet is drowning in waste. Every year we dump a massive 2.12 billion tonnes of it worldwide. If we continue like this, our global annual waste production is expected to increase by a stunning 70 percent before 2050, accelerating massive social and environmental problems. That is why What Design Can Do (WDCD) is launching the No Waste Challenge, its third Climate Action Challenge in partnership with the IKEA Foundation. This global design competition calls on all creatives and innovators to address the enormous impact of waste and with €10.000 in funding and a global development programme co-created with Impact Hub. So, how do we encourage more mindful consumption; how can we produce in a way that considers the needs of the planet; and how can we handle waste more responsibly?
Three colorful recycle bins for metal, glass and other waste in the nature. Tin Barrels on at the camping site for waste separation.
WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?
Our wasteful economies are driving us towards a global climate crisis, so we need to act fast. While we focus on redesigning the entire system over the long term, we can also make an immediate impact by buying less stuff, making more sustainable products, and reusing or recycling materials. For this reason, the No Waste Challenge is looking for design-driven solutions at various scales. Proposals should be exciting, feasible, potentially scalable, and respond to at least one of three global design briefs as presented by WDCD. Applicants can submit their proposals online via the No Waste Challenge platform from 12 January until 1 April 2021.
DESIGNERS STEP UP
Historically, designers have encouraged over-production, over-extraction, and a never-ending quest for novelty. But design also has the power to shift perspectives and facilitate alternative visions of the future. The COVID-19 crisis has provided us with an unprecedented opportunity to do so, and to open doors to radical new ideas, products, services and systems. “Designers are in a unique position to change how things are made, and what they are made of. A growing number of creatives have already taken an active role in the transition to a circular economy, by experimenting with materials and processes, raising awareness, and inspiring vital new narratives around waste as a resource. But there is a lot more potential. Now more than ever, the design community must step up, own up and lead,” says Richard van der Laken, creative director of WDCD.
Liz McKeon, Head of Climate Action portfolio at the IKEA Foundation, says: “Waste is one of the argest sources of greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. As consumers, we have the power to change this through our purchasing decisions. And as a society, we have a tremendous opportunity to bring about positive changes for the planet by rethinking how we produce, package, consume, reuse and regenerate the things we buy. But we need solutions fast. The IKEA Foundation s supporting What Design Can Do and the No Waste Challenge to bring the creative power of design to solving problems like waste and addressing the most urgent issue of our time.”
Trash on street by Claudio Schwarz Purzlbaum
GLOBAL ISSUES, LOCAL SOLUTIONS
Although waste is a global problem, the best solutions are often rooted in local contexts. To reflect this, the No Waste Challenge offers one global track alongside six tracks in major cities around the world: Nairobi (with partner Kenya Climate Innovation Center), Tokyo (with partner Shibaura House), São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro (with partner Mandacaru Design), Delhi (with partner Quicksand), Mexico City, and Amsterdam. In May, a jury of leading experts in design, social impact and climate action will select a minimum of 10 winners. Next to a prize fund of €10.000 each, the centrepiece of the award package is a global development programme which includes online training, mentoring sessions and a bootcamp. Co-created by Impact Hub, this programme will support the winning teams in further strengthening their projects, and propelling them into 2022.
