Disposability is currently (and unfortunately) the foundation of our culture. Fromplanned obsolescence, to unnecessary packaging and single-use coffee pods, disposability has been designed into so many everyday things. That's why it's imperative that designers and other creative souls get out of this 'wasteful' way of thinking, and to see 'waste' not as waste, but as a potential material.
When she found out that tons of sea grass were ending up in landfills each year, German designer Carolin Pertsch decided to find new ways to use this natural material.
According to Dezeen, beaches on the German coast are cleaned up regularly of seagrass to prepare them for tourist season. Thousands of tons of these plants end up as "special waste" in landfills. To divert this perfectly usable material from the landfill, Pertsch began to collect Zostera Marina seagrass (also known as eelgrass and seawrack) from the coast, and found a new way to use them: as minimalist but sturdy stools.