PLASTIC DEBT
Design
It is estimated that 8 million tons of plastic end up in the world’s oceans and greater water sources each year. This number includes both virgin and recycled plastics, standing as a reminder that all plastics pose a threat to the oceans, new and re-used. By focusing on the fact that utilitarian objects composed of recycled plastics still pose a threat of making their way back into the environment, Studio Potluck aimed to sequester recycled plastic versus reallocating plastics as a whole. PLASTIC DEBT EDITION aims to remove and keep plastics out of our precious water systems and create an individual sense of ownership of the plastic debt we owe to the planet. Participants are invited to take ownership of a percentage of the world’s plastic debt by purchasing a uniquely composed and numbered recycle plastic disk representing “1/587899” of the world’s ocean plastics. Each of the 587,899 injection molded disks is inscribed with a number, representing the disk’s place in the limited edition. Once all 587,899 recycled plastic disks are made and sold, a year’s worth of the world’s plastics will then be sequestered in a valued art object to be displayed and traded as any notable edition art series would be. The aim is to create hype around the disks through a sense of exclusivity and limitation, and spectacle through the act of picking a disk and having it inscribed with its unique number, representing the participant’s ownership of the PLASTIC DEBT. For Design Week at Rossana Orlandi, the idea is to set up a lab space to both displays the PLASTIC DEBT disks and allow visitors to choose a disk(s) to purchase and have a lab technician inscribe it with their edition number on the spot with a medium-sized tabletop CNC machine. Visitors can pick a disk, have it customized, and take it to go in a short amount of time. Per our manufacturer, we are able to produce 500 disks for Design Week, and then continue the production run and take orders after the show.