Waste Age

From 5 December 2023 to 1st September 2024

Each year, more than 2 billion tonnes of trash are produced worldwide. The temporary exhibition “Waste Age” of the Cité des sciences et de l'industrie encourages us to think about this mountain of waste produced by our productivity focused economies and argues for a sharp reduction in its volume.

 

“Waste Age” (original title, Waste Age: What Can Design Do?) is an exhibition created by the London Design Museum.

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The exhibition

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Giving a second life to waste does not rule out aesthetics or innovation – far from it. It presents a new generation of designers who are rethinking our relationship with everyday items. The exhibition refutes the popular misconception that durable materials and objects must necessarily be tasteless or ugly, and reveals the formerly overlooked value of waste.

 

 

Practical information

Accessibility

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    Peak waste

    This first part of the exhibition throws light on the mechanisms of mass production and consumerism.

    Visitors discover the effects of overconsumption of plastics and other materials, and the resulting waste. With the aid of data visualisation, photographs and disposable items, the exhibition reveals the extent of waste problems on a global scale and the urgent need to radically change our ways of thinking and consuming.

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    Precious waste

    In this second part, visitors are encouraged to look at waste differently through many projects such as clothing made from vegetable matter and recycled plastic (such as Stella McCartney’s fashion) or the renovation of social housing in the Cité du Grand Parc, Bordeaux, by architects Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal. Through their achievements, designers reveal the value of certain kinds of waste.

     

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    Post waste

    In this third, final part, visitors learn about the new ways of thinking that visionary designers are exploring. Their approaches contribute to the elimination of waste, promote regenerative design and comply with the principles of the circular economy.

    Thanks to the efforts of designers working with materials such as mycelium, rice husks or agricultural waste, it is now possible to plan a future in which resources are managed in the long term and waste vanishes.