A legacy of waste

As part of a commission from idéÔ Mauges, we supported the Prospective Council of Mauges Communauté, a citizen body, in exploring new narratives and imaginaries around our relationship with waste and its management. A proactive approach for a peri-urban area already well advanced on this issue!

What if waste became desirable traces of our personal stories and History? What if what was once perceived as dirty became consumable? What if recycling was a myth to move beyond? What if “small civic actions” were actually hindering systemic change? What if non-human life inspired new rituals and relationships with our rubbish?

These thought-provoking questions served as starting points for a speculative design workshop where the members of the Prospective Council co-created three possible futures for Mauges and its waste:

• The future of Experiential Maximalism, the counterpart to material minimalism, focuses on prioritising life experiences for happiness. In 2033, following this approach, recycling is abandoned, and any consumption that generates waste is avoided.
• The future of Domestic Materials envisions cohabiting with our durable waste, which we no longer part with, while revaluing biodegradable waste at home.
• The future of Mauges as a “High Energy Valorisation Area” (HEVA) takes us to 2040, where the Mauges region imports waste from across the area to transform it into energy. In exchange for the inconveniences of hosting waste, residents enjoy total free energy and access to new services within their community.

The speculative design scenarios and visuals were presented during a participatory exhibition, encouraging elected officials to explore alternative perspectives on this complex issue. Their reactions to the citizens’ council’s visions contributed to the emergence of new political directions, which, in time, will help protect the health of people and ecosystems.