SCOTLAND now has its first city centre plastic recycling hub.
The "one-stop shop" has been set up in Aberdeen by designers from Gray’s School of Art at the city’s Robert Gordon University (RGU) to redefine how local plastic waste is recycled.
Created by start-up Origin, which was established through RGU's Startup Accelerator programme, the firm said it wants to empower the public to impact change on waste plastic by putting plastic recycling on show.
The firm’s director Ben Durack added that the team wants to raise awareness of more sustainable ways of discarding plastic.
Durack, who is also a 3D Design lecturer at Gray’s School of Art, said: “Plastic is a great resource. It’s durable, strong, lightweight, water resistant and relatively easy to manufacture however we have a global waste challenge. Much of our plastics end up in landfill at the end of its short lifetime which usually lasts for less than 15 minutes.
“We want to raise awareness that there is a more sustainable option and to empower communities across the north east to support a circular economy that reduces the carbon footprint typically associated to recycling whilst ensuring waste plastic is actually recycled."
Based at 1-5 George Street, the "highly visible" space is known as the Origin Hub. The shop front will be filled with knee-deep plastic to highlight the amount of plastic waste in circulation that a person would walk through if it was laid out across the UK and its islands.
The firm says this is equivalent to around 7 billion tonnes of plastic to date.
The Hub is part of the recently launched Culture Aberdeen project that Gray’s School of Art’s creative unit, Look Again, and is helping creatives and experimental start-up businesses to revitalise unused city centre units.
Sally Reaper, Look Again creative director, said the university is "fully committed" to supporting projects that help reduce carbon footprint.
She added: "We want to encourage greater sustainability in the North East of Scotland.”
The Origin team will showcase their products made from recycled plastic and demonstrate how these are made.
The firm said it will also introduce a line of new products which the public can vote on to put into production, and will host workshops to educate school children and members of the public.
