Lamps Made With 50% Sawdust, Some Plastic Bags, and Some Ingenuity

sawdust lamps recycled upcycled plastic bagMade from sawdust and plastic bags alone, these adhesive-free lamps take leftover materials and make them shine again.

Plastic bags are an (unfortunately) abundant material that have been used in many ways by designers, but sawdust – though abundant as well – has not been used as frequently by sustainable Middle Eastern designers.  One other designer, Yoav Avinoam, has made furniture out of sawdust but his designs required a great deal of resin (perhaps not the most eco-friendly material).

Kulla Industrial Design – a team of two designers based in Israel – has found new and more environmentally friendly ways to use this waste material.  Combining sawdust with plastic bags and baking them together in molds, Kulla creates table lamps, pendant lamps and stools in their 50% Sawdust line.

aluminum mold sawdustOn their innovative work method, designers Adi Shpigel and Keren Tomer write that “a measured mixture of the two materials is pressed into an aluminum mold and then baked.  The heat creates a homogeneous connection without using any adhesives.”

The designers describe their material for the 50% Sawdust line as a combination of “two different worlds of waste.”  In fusing them together in an environmentally friendly way, they make waste useful again.

"recycled sawdust lamp"The lamps are either set with a wooden base and suitable for use as table lamps, or hung from the ceiling as pendant lamps.  Either way, the lamps can be fitted with eco-friendly CFLs.  The semi-translucent nature of the plastic bags in the lamps creates a warm glow.

: Kulla Industrial Design

Read more about other sustainable designers::
Tel Aviv’s Junktion Studio Keeps Inspiring Us to Rethink Our Junk
Tel Aviv Port’s “Pop-Up Design Store” Features Many Upcycling Designers
Studio Mesila is Paving the Track to Sustainable Design

Karen Chernick
Karen Chernickhttps://www.greenprophet.com/
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.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

TRENDING

Astro uses AI to help procure land for renewable energy

For oil-rich, environmentally vigilant Gulf states, Astro isn’t just another startup story. It is a blueprint for accelerating an energy transition that is now existential, not optional.

Make moss graffiti

Express your green views for all to see - right on the walls of your house, restaurant or office. Moss grafitti is the hottest trend in urban agriculture, after hydroponics and vertical farming.

Going green with Saint Patrick’s Day iconography

? BEER:  Spirulina, a blue-green algae superfood packed with protein, copper, and B vitamins, is growing in popularity among international brewers. RedDot Brewhouse, located next to the Singapore Botanical Gardens, offers a spirulina-infused lager.

Why we love Cotopaxi’s colorful backpacks

The Allpa 42L is made from 100% recycled polyester and repurposed nylon, reducing waste and keeping materials out of landfills. The company also focuses on fair labor practices by partnering with factories that ensure safe working conditions and fair wages for workers.

Doha conference to showcase urban greening in arid climates

Doha hosts a climate conference

Qatar’s climate hypocrisy rides the London Underground

Qatar remains a master of doublethink—burning gas by the megaton while selling “sustainability” to a world desperate for clean air. Wake up from your slumber people.

How Quality of Hire Shapes Modern Recruitment

A 2024 survey by Deloitte found that 76% of talent leaders now consider long-term retention and workforce contribution among their most important hiring success metrics—far surpassing time-to-fill or cost-per-hire. As the expectations for new hires deepen, companies must also confront the inherent challenges in redefining and accurately measuring hiring quality.

8 Team-Building Exercises to Start the Week Off 

Team building to change the world! The best renewable energy companies are ones that function.

Thank you, LinkedIn — and what your Jobs on the Rise report means for sustainable careers

While “green jobs” aren’t always labeled as such, many of the fastest-growing roles are directly enabling the energy transition, climate resilience, and lower-carbon systems: Number one on their list is Artificial Intelligence engineers. But what does that mean? Vibe coding Claude? 

Somali pirates steal oil tankers

The pirates often stage their heists out of Somalia, a lawless country, with a weak central government that is grappling with a violent Islamist insurgency. Using speedboats that swarm the targets, the machine-gun-toting pirates take control of merchant ships and then hold the vessels, crew and cargo for ransom.

Leopoldo Alejandro Betancourt López Turned Ocean Plastic Into Profitable Sunglasses

Few fashion accessories carry the environmental burden of sunglasses. Most frames are constructed from petroleum-based plastics and acrylic polymers that linger in landfills for centuries, shedding microplastics into soil and waterways long after they've been discarded. Leopoldo Alejandro Betancourt López, president of the Spanish eyewear brand Hawkers, saw this problem differently than most industry executives.

Why Dr. Tony Jacob Sees Texas Business Egos as Warning Signs

Everything's bigger in Texas. Except business egos.  Dr. Tony Jacob figured...

Israel and America Sign Renewable Energy Cooperation Deal

Other announcements made at the conference include the Timna Renewable Energy Park, which will be a center for R&D, and the AORA Solar Thermal Module at Kibbutz Samar, the world's first commercial hybrid solar gas-turbine power plant that is already nearing completion. Solel Solar Systems announced it was beginning construction of a 50 MW solar field in Lebrija, Spain, and Brightsource Energy made a pre-conference announcement that it had inked the world's largest solar deal to date with Southern California Edison (SCE).

Related Articles

Popular Categories