Eco Orbs

Hooray!! Our Eco Orb Worm Farms are all done!

Image 1: Eco Orb Hanging Garden with cherry tomato plant & herbs
Image 2: Eco Orb Hanging Garden
Image 3: Eco Orb Hanging Worm Farm
Image 4: The Eco Orbs

In the prototype there is one Eco Orb Worm Farm and two Eco Orb Hanging Gardens which would be fed the fertiliser from the worm farms. It is displayed with herbs and plants in one Eco Orb and succulent plants in the other. This shows that people can put what ever plant they want, and collect as many as they want to create their own personalised hanging garden.

Updated Visual Map

Ta da!! Here's the final product. I made some changes to reflect the branding of the ECO ORBS so all our products/services/design outputs look aesthetically cohesive. I also added information regarding the new services to exist in the area surrounding the production of the ECO ORB. We're all pretty happy with the final product, I think it's looking great!

Worm Farm

Im my research for our final assignment I did alot of research concerning the area of sustainable food disposal, finding that worm farms were the most environmentally friendly and effective way of disposing of food waste in a small living space. Most people in Newtown live in small terrace houses and apartments, so lack of space for a large compost heap is a big issue. This is why we're attempted to create a small, space effective and aesthetically pleasing worm farm in the shape of an orb that can hang on a balcony or outdoor area of a cafe. Following are some useful websites I've found:

http://www.ryde.nsw.gov.au/services/worm.htm

http://www.marrickville.nsw.gov.au/services/waste/compostingandwormfarming.htm

http://www.wormfarm.com.au/

Above are some reference images I collected in working out the shape and logistics of the worm farm.

Task Two: Infographic

For our Task Two submission we really wanted to get creative and use infographics to show a 'waste snapshot' of Newtown in an engaging and exciting way. I think we were really successful!!

Here is our statement of intent:

Newtown is home to 15,027 people and a great number of diverse businesses, mostly food-related, in an area of 1.9 square kilometres. In this culturally and socially thriving area, the generation of waste per week is a significant issue, particularly for the multitude of businesses that line Newtown’s main streets. Through thorough investigation conducted on location at five of Newtown’s main streets in a seven day period combined with secondary research, we were able to draw various conclusions regarding waste generation in the area. Our intent is to present a ‘waste snapshot’ of the area, presenting the information in an engaging manner, relevant to the aesthetic of Newtown. Newtown is a highly creative, dynamic and forward-thinking area of Sydney,
and our alternative method of presenting data in the form of an infographic reflects this. The infographic allows complex information to be displayed clearly and quickly, similar to the fast pace of life in a busy city suburb.

Smith Family

What a rainy day to be out and about! But we survived.
Today we went on a little excursion out to The Smith Family head office in Villawood. After a long train ride we were arrived at the plant and were shown around the clothing recycling centre. This was interesting, as I've bought lots of clothes from Smith Family Op Shops before, so it was fun to see the process behind it. The Smith Family started out as a humble welfare charity 87 years ago, but have now expanded and are heavily involved in recycling, with ties to Planet Ark.
The trip was insightful, and it was good to get out of the classroom and learn about recycling through experience.

Mike Day 'Better City, Better Life'

Mike Day, lighting designer, gave us as insightful presentation today. He reported on the World Expo 2010 in Beijing, with the theme being 'City'. Day stressed that the Expo increases public awareness of the challenges faced in an urban age while suggested potential solutions. Its other purpose is to show China what the rest of the world is like, while sharing China with the rest of the world.
The presentation was filled with great photos of all parts of the Expo. While it did seem to drag on for a long time, I suppose there was just a lot of content to cover! Day was able to make us feel like we were actually present at the Expo. I was particularly interested in the British Pavilion that made use of a Dandelion shape.This was awarded Gold in the Pavilion Design category.

Above is an image of the British Pavilion design

The People Side of Climate Change

I found this lecture engaging and interesting, as it dispelled a lot of myths about climate change and gave us practical and realistic solutions.
The Thermometer Survey regarding community opinion as it evolves in response to climate change is an interesting project. I had not considered before that opinion could change significantly through different times of the year. It was explained to us that during extreme periods of weather, for instance in summer with the onset of drought, people tend to register greater interest in the topic of climate change. The lecturer explained that drought is the physical manifestation of climate change and helps drive awareness towards the issue in general.
I was also surprised to learn that Australia is one of the few developed countries that 'believe' in climate change. This makes sense however, considering that almost all Australians have lived through a drought.
The lecturer was able to suggest viable solutions that we can all implement in our daily lives. He stressed that there needs to be a great shift towards ethical shopping and recycling clothes, insisting that in 5 years most sustainable products will be a lot cheaper than they are now.
Overall I found it encouraging that 60% of Australians think acting on climate change is very important, however only 24% think it is at the responsibility of each individual to act on climate change.
This lecture showed me that there are many things each individual can do to reduce the effects of climate change and to pave the way in a shift towards ethical and sustainable consumption.

Plastiki

This week we took a little Field Trip down to the Maritime Museum at Darling Harbour to check out the Plastiki boat, made entirely from recycled or recyclable plastic! We had the chance to hear all about the construction of the boat from Plastiki's designer, who let us on board the boat - much to the disapproval of the security at the Maritime Museum! It was interesting to hear about the ideology behind the creation of Plastiki, as the structure successfully proves that waste can be used as a resource. In this case, 20,000 post-consumer plastic bottles are used to float the boat. The journey of Plastiki from San Fransisco to Australia aimed to bring awareness to the way in which we live and discard waste is killing the ocean.

Week 02

On Tuesday we had our first lecture for our lab 'Waste and The City' from Kath McLaughlin, Waste Education Officer from the City of Sydney.
I found the lecture insightful and engaging, as Kath was able to provide us with statistical information regarding waste management in the Sydney area and offer possible solutions. I was surprised to discover Australia is the 2nd highest producer of waste in the world, with Sydney-siders spending 2.5 billion dollars a year on things we never use. Kath was also able to show us the impact of waste on not just environmental but also social and economic aspects of our society. While slightly 'kitsch', as Kath did warn us, the educational 'Ian Thorpe Recycling Video' was highly informative, teaching me about the process of recycling and useful facts I was previously unaware of, such as why it is important to remove lids of plastic bottles before recycling.
A highlight of the lecture was when I won a 'Keep Cup' for correctly identifying a use for recycled plastic bottles: fleecy jackets!
Although I have only been engaging with this subject for two weeks I already feel more aware of how I deal with my own waste, ensuring reusing and recycling is a top priority, even more so than before.
As far as our individual projects go, this week will be used to spend more time on King Street, conducting interviews and identifying issues. I have contacted the council to find out specifics including rubbish collection days and problem areas. By next week's class I aim to have a reasonable grasp on the waste issues of my particular street so I am able to discuss my findings with my group.

Day One

Hey kids,
welcome to 'Talkin' Trash', a online documentation of my research regarding waste on King Street, Newtown! To get a feel for what we will be dealing with, I took a trip to Newtown after our tute this week with group partner Keenan. We walked up and down King Street, noting and taking photos of the types of businesses present in the area. We noticed many restaurants and take away food joints - it will be interesting to find out how these business deal with their waste. We also noted a variety of op shops, including Charity clothes store 'Vinnies'. How do Vinnies get rid of their waste? Are clothes unsold eventually thrown out?