Wonderful Waste

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Wonderful Waste

Building anything is inherently wasteful, but does it have to be?
We meet six innovators reimagining the role of waste in our world.

More than a third of Australia’s 67 million tonnes of waste comes from construction and demolition. Concrete, glass, steel, and timber that are no longer fit for use. But why not?

What role does design play in the inherently wasteful, unsustainable building of our homes and the things that fill them? Six key designers and inventors are finding the utility in our forgotten furniture, binned plastics, construction waste, and discarded appliances. Exploring the origins of their passion for sustainability, Wonderful Waste follows them as they pave the way to a brighter future. A future that is not only more beautiful and sustainable but one in which the benefits can be experienced by all.

Behind the scenes of production for Wonderful Waste

We are delighted to announce that Wonderful Waste has received funding from Screen Australia after previously receiving support from the Skip Ahead fund for our series, Small Footprint.

Screen Australia’s Head of Online Lee Naimo said, “There’s no denying we’re seeing a golden age of online content production in Australia and local creators capitalising on opportunities to reach new audiences. We are excited to fund such a variety of projects with boundary-pushing documentaries, smart and original dramas and comedies as well as a children’s animated series. We’d like to see even more children’s content coming through for online as it’s becoming more and more an important medium to reach young viewers.”

“It’s great to see alumni from our Skip Ahead initiative with Google further expanding their careers and creating distinctive content, with Gabriel Willie moving into documentary on No Offence and the team behind Small Footprint now producing Wonderful Waste. We’re also pleased to support returning series of The Formal and Flunk, as we have been impressed to see both teams build highly engaged fanbases with their authentic Australian LGBTQI+ stories.”

View the full Screen Australia press release here.

Wonderful Waste
 Episodes
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Super Local

Dutch Designers Pim & Luc have devoted themselves to reducing waste and creating sustainable products hand in hand with local communities.
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Studiomama

Nina Tolstrup founded StudioMama in 2000 with partner Jack Mama, and over the past 20 years they’ve championed repurposing, repairing and upcycling with a playful and accessible approach to design.
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Five Mile Radius

Inspired by her time working in India, architect Clare Kennedy has based her design & practice around one Gandhi principle, build with materials in a Five Mile Radius.
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Smile Plastics

Co-founders & couple, Rosalie and Adam have been creating recycled and repurposed designs for more than a decade, founding Smile Plastics in 2015 to give architects & designers access to sustainable new materials.
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Veena Sahajwalla

Professor Veena Sahajwalla grew up in Mumbai experiencing the possibilities for waste, and she’s since devoted her life to devising new ways to recycle as much as possible.
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Revival Projects

Starting out as a builder, Robbie Neville noticed a truly shocking amount of building waste headed to landfills around Australia. So he started salvaging it himself.