We’ve seen billboards turned into handbags, now they’re being upcycled into placemats. Chew on that.
The ubiquitous billboards that we routinely see during our everyday lives are made out of PVC, some pretty nasty stuff. Due to the nature of billboards being hung outdoors and subjected to weather, they are made of out a fairly indestructible material. Sadly, this also means that they are not biodegradable or even degradable. Items made out of PVC retain their form for decades and decades, and eventually just granulate (breaking down into smaller pieces of the same substance).
In order to avoid sending these billboards to the landfill for a little while longer, designers in the region have come up with creative uses for them.
Waste Lb in Lebanon makes durable, reusable shopping bags out of old billboard materials. Abu YoYo, based in Tel Aviv, turns used billboard materials into handbags and home accessories.
Now Naomi Gerstein of Abu YoYo Design has teamed up with some folks at ViaMaris Partners to come up with another billboard waste project: ReMakes placemats.
ReMakes placemats (seen above) are made from reclaimed billboards and movie posters in Israel. The placemats come in sets of four, with all sets cut from the same billboard in order to create visual cohesion.
For the more elegant eco-homes out there, ReMakes also has a line of black placemats cut from the black portion of the billboard.
To read more about the project visit the ReMakes website or Abe’s Market.
Photos by: Sara Eichler
Read more about sustainable design in Israel::
Israeli Reuse Conference Claims that Big Opportunities Come in Reused Packages
Ten Sustainable Israeli Designers Who Reduce, Reuse & Recycle
Tel Aviv Port’s “Pop-Up Design Store” Features Many Upcycling Designers
Author: Karen Chernick
Much to the disappointment of her Moroccan grandmother, Karen became a vegetarian at the age of seven because of a heartfelt respect for other forms of life. She also began her journey to understand her surroundings and her impact on the environment. She even starting an elementary school Ecology Club and an environmental newsletter in the 3rd grade. (The proceeds of the newsletter went to non-profit environmental organizations, of course.) She now studies in New York. Karen can be reached at karen (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
