A Resilient City: Waste As Commodity

Abstract

CHRISTCHURCH 2061 We recognise that nature functions without producing waste. All forms of waste are eventually consumed, used and recycled in a resilient system. Waste becomes resource as dead matter is processed by microbial organisms present in soil, converting waste into food for the proceeding stage of the perpetual cycle. But as humans, we are mismanaging our waste, creating new types in extreme quantities without establishing recovery systems that enable it to circulate back into use. Materials are extracted, transported, manufactured, used and at the end of the cycle and is discarded, as waste. Following the example of nature, the aim of this thesis is to completely eliminate waste. This means rather than seeing material at the end of their first life as a problem, they should be looked at as opportunities and valuable resources. A zero waste society is a forward thinking vision of bettering our society and nature in this world and create resilient economies. To test this proposition, this thesis is proposed in Christchurch 2061, where there is no material waste. Similar to the natural system, every product we buy from building materials to food packaging are designed to be transformed and reused again and again. Society has evolved to manage its resources and what was once ‘waste’ is now recognised for its embodied energy and transformed into useful resources. This transformation occurs at the Christchurch Materials Transformation Hub located in the Central City, where sorting and processing of household items, industrial and commercial resources, as well as building materials, are all transformed into useful materials. An above ground infrastructure facilitates all material transportation both to and from the Transformation Plant. The Hub also contains a Collection Centre and an Eco-Shop where a range of goods are donated, checked for quality and then sold or broken down into their base ingredients in the Transformation Plant. A Research and Development Workshop is on site to explore possible product design given the base materials from the Transformation Plant, as well as a Showcase Space to present to the public of the materials available.