Plastic Soup

Pimp it up

I had my suspicions that in doing my Plastic Soup interviews I would run into some real interesting people. However, I absolutely did not think that this network would expand so quickly.

In the Netherlands, I got so many astonished looks when I went on about the plastic waste problem, that I came to the conclusion that there must be very few people who were dealing with the issue. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Everyone with whom I’ve spoken, refers to a dozen others I should speak to, websites I should visit, and companies which are dedicated to doing their best in finding a solution to the problem. One more enthusiastic than the next. I was afraid that I would become completely depressed by this issue, but actually as a result, I have become more upbeat, going from one surprising discovery to another, and becoming more and more convinced that we can solve this problem.

Through Jay Golden, the inspirational Vice President of Nieuwe Media and producer of “Gorillia in the Greenhouse“, I was lead to Annie Leonard of “The Story of Stuff“. In one of her flim-clips on her site she clearly outlines the problem that we’ve created ourselves. In a world with limited resources we’ve established a linear system: the mining of raw material - production - distribution - consumption - disposal. In a global world, all systems must take a circular form. We need to therefore, eliminate the “disposal”.

Both Rinus van den Berg of DSM (a company that produces new plastic), and Michael Biddle of MBA Polymers (a company that recycles plastic) agree that the product needs to be used as long as possible before it is recycled. Isn’t it time that a store specializing in recycled goods becomes as present in a shopping center as a store where you can have your watches, household appliances and washing machine repaired? Of course it also has to look a little appealing. You can have everything pimped up these days, from your bicycle to your mother-in-law. How about a “pimp your recycling” shop? In that way we have stores where it is a pleasure to shop, where second-hand goods are being “pimped”, where you can drink coffee, and where the stuff you buy is really original, instead of “such-and-such” mass-produced product.

Just as my publisher always says: “You have to make sure it’s sexy, then people will be automatically attracted.”

It’s time for a sexy recycling store!

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