In Rhode Island, the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design has launched Loop Lab, an initiative to convert waste generated by the school into raw materials for student use.
Currently, the lab focuses on paper waste. “It’s the lowest hanging fruit, if you will,” Jennifer Bissonnette, director of RISD’s Edna W. Lawrence Nature Lab, tells dezeen. “Every single department is producing it, and it’s a tried-and-true material with a lot of history and potential for innovation.”
Loop Lab hopes to extend the project to other materials, such as textiles and plastics.
“This is a pilot, so we can’t solve the entire waste problem on campus, but we can engage students in thinking about circularity,” said Bissonnette.