A World Without Waste: Circular Economy | Climate For Change: Closing The Loop | Ep 2/2

00:49:40
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_FGmc3EYGw

Summary

TLDRThe video discusses the transition from a linear to a circular economy, underscoring the necessity of viewing waste as a resource. It presents inspiring examples from various sectors, including textile recycling in Prato, Italy, which processes a considerable amount of the world's recycled clothing, illustrating how communities can leverage their historical practices to tackle modern waste issues. In Singapore, businesses are innovatively promoting clothing rentals to minimize waste and extend the lifecycle of garments. The video also addresses waste management practices utilizing black soldier flies, which convert food waste into valuable products, demonstrating real-life applications of circular economy principles. It highlights the potential of bio-materials and advanced recycling methods as sustainable solutions, and emphasizes the role of local innovations and community collaboration in achieving a more sustainable future.

Takeaways

  • ♻️ Circular economy reduces waste and promotes resource efficiency.
  • 🧥 Recycling textiles gives clothes a second life.
  • 🌍 The fashion industry is a significant carbon emitter.
  • 🐛 Black soldier flies convert food waste into useful products.
  • 👗 Renting clothes minimizes waste from fast fashion.
  • 👚 Innovations in recycling can reimagine waste as a resource.
  • 🌿 Bio-materials provide sustainable alternatives to plastics.
  • 🏛️ Architecture can embrace circular design principles.
  • 🏘️ Communities play a vital role in supporting sustainable practices.
  • 📈 Collaboration is key to advancing circular economy initiatives.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    The circular economy contrasts with the traditional linear economy by emphasizing that everything produced should be reused and not wasted. Waste should be viewed as a design flaw, and resources should be rejuvenated to provide multiple lifetimes, similar to natural systems.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    Prato, Italy, renowned for its textile industry, has a long legacy of recycling textiles dating back to the 14th century. Fabio Marcello plays a key role in textile recycling, collecting used clothes and ensuring that quality materials either remain within Italy or are sent to Eastern Europe, leveraging a vital recycling ecosystem.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:15:00

    The fashion industry is under strain due to its significant carbon emissions and high water usage. With only a small fraction of clothing recycled, Prato's unique processes highlight the importance of reusing clothes before recycling them, keeping textile waste from landfills.

  • 00:15:00 - 00:20:00

    Innovations such as clothing rental services in Singapore illustrate a shift towards circularity in fashion. By renting clothes, companies help people access high-quality designs while significantly increasing the number of wears for each item, effectively reducing waste and unnecessary production.

  • 00:20:00 - 00:25:00

    Ryan Mario Yasin merges engineering with fashion through his line of expandable clothing designed for growing children. By creating garments that adjust in size, he aims to combat the wasteful culture of fast fashion while inspiring future generations towards sustainability in design.

  • 00:25:00 - 00:30:00

    Researchers are developing biomaterials that could replace plastics. Innovations like a biodegradable adhesive stand to lessen environmental impacts. Opportunities to mimic nature within production processes can lead to more efficient and sustainable material production.

  • 00:30:00 - 00:35:00

    In Singapore, a farm cultivating black soldier flies turns food waste into valuable bio-materials, emphasizing the dual goals of ecological sustainability and economic viability. Their innovative approach shows how organisms can aid in waste conversion effectively.

  • 00:35:00 - 00:40:00

    Madavi Srinivasan's work on recycling electronic waste combines artificial intelligence and eco-friendly methods to recover precious materials, aiming to meet the needs of future energy systems as electronic waste grows exponentially

  • 00:40:00 - 00:49:40

    Circularity in building design is exemplified by architects using recycled materials to create sustainable structures. Effective building designs maximize the utility of all resources and foster a culture of reuse, contributing positively to urban environments.

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Mind Map

Video Q&A

  • What is a circular economy?

    A circular economy is an economic model that emphasizes reusing and recycling products to eliminate waste and make the most of resources, mimicking natural ecosystems.

  • What percentage of clothing ends up in landfills?

    More than 80 percent of all clothing finally ends up in landfills or incinerators.

  • How does the fashion industry impact the environment?

    The fashion industry contributes to nearly 10 percent of global carbon emissions and uses around 100 trillion liters of water annually.

  • What role do black soldier flies play in waste management?

    Black soldier flies consume food waste and can convert it into high-value products like animal feed and fertilizer.

  • How can clothing rental services support sustainability?

    Clothing rental services extend the lifespan of garments by allowing multiple users to wear the same items, reducing the need for new production.

  • What is the relevance of biodegradable materials?

    Biomaterials are sustainable alternatives to plastics, potentially easing environmental strain and promoting a circular economy.

  • What innovations are being used in textile recycling?

    Innovations include the use of technology for sorting and recycling textiles, as well as methods to give used textiles a second life.

  • Why is upcycling important?

    Upcycling transforms waste materials into valuable products, reducing resource depletion and environmental impact.

  • What are some examples of circular economy practices in architecture?

    Examples include modular buildings made from recycled materials and designs that adapt to multiple uses.

  • How can communities contribute to a circular economy?

    Communities can engage in recycling initiatives, support local circular economy businesses, and adopt sustainable consumption habits.

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  • 00:00:00
    [Music]
  • 00:00:02
    the alternative to the linear economy is
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    a circular economy
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    this is this idea that everything that
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    you produce
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    goes back into the system so there is no
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    waste
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    look at waste as a design flaw
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    it's about reimagining waste as a
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    resource
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    every resource gets a second life or
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    gets as many multiple
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    lives as possible
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    circular economy just means we have to
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    be more like nature
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    what do we leave behind and how can we
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    make a change to the environment we're
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    living in
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    [Music]
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    [Music]
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    deep inside the tuscan mountains stands
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    prato
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    home to the textile capital of italy
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    the city doesn't just produce textiles
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    it also recycles them
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    fabio marcello started his own textile
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    recycling business
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    continuing the family trade
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    we have a long story in this business in
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    recycling
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    i think all started in the 14th century
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    i am the third generation in this
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    business
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    i work in a recycling textile
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    because of my family i want to be a
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    merchant
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    and why not in this in this business
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    that is our history
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    and the history of my family the family
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    built its business
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    on collecting used clothes it's a
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    crucial first step
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    in an ecosystem of clothes recycling
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    that's made the town famous
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    prato is said to process 15 of all
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    recycled clothes in the world
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    twice a week come from germany one truck
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    full of as they say garbage
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    but for us it's not garbage it's uh rav
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    materials
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    and recycling materials and also every
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    day arrive
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    four little trucks from florence and
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    our process here in company is to make a
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    selection
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    of these goods and our main business is
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    to
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    take as much as possible material has
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    reuse
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    only after we think about recycling
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    this is the most important step of
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    selection
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    that's why we have our oldest friends
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    and employee paola that work with us
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    since 25 years ago and
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    all what we select here is extra quality
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    and this material is what remain here in
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    our italian market
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    or go in east europe market
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    the clothes receive a very valuable
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    second life
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    wherever they end up that's important
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    considering that making clothes
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    is a highly resource intensive
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    enterprise
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    the fashion industry produces close to
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    10 percent of the world's global carbon
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    emissions
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    and uses nearly 100 trillion liters of
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    water annually
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    that makes it the second most
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    water-intensive industry in the world
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    more than 80 percent of all clothing
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    finally ends up in landfills or
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    incinerators
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    prato's history of recycling originates
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    from leaner times
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    centuries ago times were hard raw
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    materials were scarce
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    and people needed clothes pratos sensei
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    aiolis or rag men of old
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    would collect clothes and select them by
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    quality texture
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    and weight then they would organize them
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    by color
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    and from the shreds recycle the fabric
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    the same process continues today with a
  • 00:04:55
    little help from modern technology
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    while fabio works to get clothes with a
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    little more life left
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    reused fabrizio tessie deals with
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    clothes that are completely spent
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    his workshop recycles up to 25 tonnes of
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    clothes in a single day
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    [Music]
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    [Music]
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    this is the result at the end of the
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    process mechanical wool
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    what was once the fabric of used clothes
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    thrown away
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    has now been given a second life
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    prato shows the world that it's not just
  • 00:06:42
    technology that enables change
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    but culture too
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    this is a circular economy that's been
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    keeping livelihoods going for centuries
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    [Music]
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    [Music]
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    [Music]
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    going circular means more than just
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    making new clothes from old ones
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    it's also about getting as much use as
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    possible out of them
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    one company in singapore is rewriting
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    fashion
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    by getting people to rent clothes rather
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    than buy them
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    this is for order number 48a right i
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    need you to kcds
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    in a city like singapore a lot of women
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    live very busy lifestyles
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    and are generally quite time poor so the
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    platform that we provided them allowed
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    them to have that freedom to just
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    wear anything that they choose from very
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    favorite designers from all across the
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    world
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    which are designs that they wouldn't
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    have access to usually okay so
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    these are the trending colors it works
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    like this
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    customers pick their plan starting from
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    about 45 us dollars a month for clothes
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    and 75 us dollars for bags they select
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    what they want on a catalog
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    and a box arrives at their door they
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    return it after a month
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    and it goes back to a cloud wardrobe
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    full of items that are carefully curated
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    according to a database of preferences
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    for styles
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    sizes and occasions
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    the company have since set up cloud
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    wardrobes outside singapore
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    in jakarta and hong kong it enables
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    every piece of item that has been
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    produced to stay within the ecosystem
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    a dress that has usually only been worn
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    two or three times
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    it's right now being used 30 to 50 times
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    within that ecosystem really stretching
  • 00:09:00
    the life span of every piece of item
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    how many pieces can this bag fit it will
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    fit for too quiet
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    so we have facilitated over 2.3 million
  • 00:09:10
    rentals so far
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    and we're very proud of that because
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    that actually helped to save
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    over 600 000 pieces of items not going
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    into the landfill
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    it is actually a small win for us and
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    there's just so much more
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    that we could do together if everyone
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    tries out rental and really prevent the
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    unnecessary
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    production of clothes and unnecessary
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    throwing away of clothes
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    ten thousand kilometers away in london
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    another business has a different idea to
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    give clothes a little more life
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    ryan mario yasin is a clothes designer
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    of a quite different sort
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    i think design really should solve
  • 00:09:53
    problems
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    and at the same time push humanity
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    forward
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    so that tomorrow is better than today
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    brian trained as an aeronautical
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    engineer
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    [Music]
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    then put those talents to a different
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    use
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    he makes clothes
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    or as he calls it wearable technology
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    well how can we design for a family on
  • 00:10:20
    mars
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    you're not going to want to take seven
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    garment sizes up into space
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    so if you can have clothes that grow
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    that is the garment that they would take
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    to mars
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    at university ryan designed expanding
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    structures for cube satellites
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    ryan's folding structures meant that
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    solar panels could be folded into a gap
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    just millimeters wide
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    and when deployed in space unfolded into
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    a large structure
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    he used those expansion ideas on pretty
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    please clothes
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    so the way a particular garment works is
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    it's embedded
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    with a structure that allows it to grow
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    bi-directionally to custom fit a range
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    of ages
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    that's called a negative poisson's ratio
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    so what a negative poisson ratio is is
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    essentially a material that grows along
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    its length
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    and width at the same time so this is
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    the most optimal
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    expansion ratio for a child between the
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    ages of nine months and four years
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    thus this garment grows through seven
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    discrete sizes
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    and when junior outgrows the outfit it
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    gets passed on to his younger siblings
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    some people loved it some people
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    absolutely hated it
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    it just caused so much conversation and
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    that was the perfect
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    opportunity to get people talking about
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    waste
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    and sustainable fashion and resource
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    efficiency and
  • 00:11:40
    innovation within the garment industry
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    all you have to do is pull horizontally
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    and it resets the entire structure for
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    easy care
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    the materials we use are from waste
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    bottles so we recycle the waste bottles
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    turn them into the fabrics
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    too the manufacturing process
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    is so streamlined so instead of creating
  • 00:12:00
    seven different sizes we create one size
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    and that means more efficiency for the
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    manufacturer
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    three what people do often these days
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    with fashion e-commerce is they buy
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    multiple sizes and then they return the
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    size that they don't like or that
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    doesn't fit them as well
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    and this amounts to a huge amount of co2
  • 00:12:16
    emissions and it's really bad for a
  • 00:12:18
    company's bottom line to be able to
  • 00:12:19
    survive
  • 00:12:21
    next you have the users so how can you
  • 00:12:23
    inspire
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    users to live a better life or to
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    also grow up to solve problems we're
  • 00:12:30
    speaking to the parents
  • 00:12:31
    and we're speaking to the children and
  • 00:12:33
    we're trying to inspire the children to
  • 00:12:34
    grow up to be astronauts to grow up to
  • 00:12:36
    be engineers and scientists and
  • 00:12:38
    to use design to their fullest potential
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    or communication to its fullest
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    potential to spread the word
  • 00:12:44
    in terms of emotional durability it's
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    creating a garment which will
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    change with you as you change yeah
  • 00:12:53
    they haven't stopped at children's
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    clothes ryan is applying his technology
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    to maternity wear and outfits for the
  • 00:13:00
    elderly with mobility issues
  • 00:13:03
    they also want to lease their clothes so
  • 00:13:06
    they have longer lifespans
  • 00:13:08
    altogether this is an antidote to the
  • 00:13:10
    widespread culture
  • 00:13:12
    of buying and throwing away yeah but
  • 00:13:15
    you know i don't want to put my child in
  • 00:13:17
    a garment for
  • 00:13:18
    two years because that's just so not
  • 00:13:21
    normal
  • 00:13:22
    in today's world but if we can make that
  • 00:13:24
    the norm then there's so much
  • 00:13:26
    opportunity
  • 00:13:27
    for that really our goal at petitely now
  • 00:13:30
    is to
  • 00:13:31
    nudge people's behavior and mindset
  • 00:13:34
    towards their garments
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    to understand that their garment
  • 00:13:36
    shouldn't really cost less than a
  • 00:13:38
    sandwich
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    and also show them the potential of
  • 00:13:41
    actually investing in the value
  • 00:13:43
    of the garment there's a huge potential
  • 00:13:46
    for
  • 00:13:46
    our garments to just add more value to
  • 00:13:48
    our everyday lives and i think that
  • 00:13:50
    we should be asking more of those
  • 00:13:52
    garment designers
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    and that supply chain to ensure that
  • 00:13:55
    that can happen in the future
  • 00:14:10
    from my perspective science need to be
  • 00:14:12
    social
  • 00:14:13
    most of our science is actually funded
  • 00:14:15
    by society
  • 00:14:16
    it can be knowledge it can be technology
  • 00:14:18
    right but it should be like a return
  • 00:14:20
    to societies javier fernandez and
  • 00:14:23
    steliano stritzas
  • 00:14:25
    want to change how the world makes
  • 00:14:27
    materials
  • 00:14:28
    so they won't cost the earth to produce
  • 00:14:30
    it's disrotating
  • 00:14:32
    yep okay they're co-inventors
  • 00:14:35
    of a fungal-like adhesive material or
  • 00:14:38
    flam
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    flam is a bio-material it's made of
  • 00:14:42
    natural matter
  • 00:14:43
    that's abundant in supply
  • 00:14:46
    the lab's work could herald the dawn of
  • 00:14:49
    a circular economy of materials
  • 00:14:52
    biomaterials are easily recycled and
  • 00:14:55
    they could be the long-awaited antidote
  • 00:14:57
    to the overuse of plastics
  • 00:14:59
    plastic brought like a completely
  • 00:15:01
    different concept to the table that is
  • 00:15:03
    the concept of
  • 00:15:04
    i can manufacture really fast and i can
  • 00:15:06
    manufacture very cheap
  • 00:15:08
    so now the things they are not made for
  • 00:15:10
    lasting they are made for
  • 00:15:11
    convenience so after you have a dinner
  • 00:15:14
    you don't need to do this you just wrap
  • 00:15:16
    everything and then you throw it away
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    and now for us it looks
  • 00:15:19
    funny it was even terrible right and
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    it's not because these people was bad
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    right it's because the concept of
  • 00:15:26
    we have a limited space on earth is is
  • 00:15:29
    [Music]
  • 00:15:30
    is true right i think
  • 00:15:34
    we cannot expect that biomaterials can
  • 00:15:36
    completely
  • 00:15:37
    replace plastics because they have some
  • 00:15:39
    very useful properties so for certain
  • 00:15:41
    applications
  • 00:15:42
    are indispensable for example synthetic
  • 00:15:44
    glass from petroleum
  • 00:15:46
    can be used for applications where you
  • 00:15:48
    need to create barriers for
  • 00:15:50
    oxygen and water exactly because of
  • 00:15:53
    those properties
  • 00:15:54
    common plastics cannot be recovered by
  • 00:15:56
    natural
  • 00:15:57
    processes what we can target
  • 00:15:59
    pragmatically
  • 00:16:00
    is to deal with the overuse of plastics
  • 00:16:02
    right that's a more practical
  • 00:16:04
    and reasonable approach for the time
  • 00:16:06
    being and maybe in the future
  • 00:16:08
    if there's new forms of biomaterials
  • 00:16:10
    maybe we could
  • 00:16:11
    even replace plastics synthetic plastics
  • 00:16:16
    first we're gonna create the resin or
  • 00:16:18
    the adhesive
  • 00:16:19
    to create the adhesive we need water
  • 00:16:22
    here
  • 00:16:23
    and i need to add 10 grams of
  • 00:16:26
    chitin here we need to add the acetic
  • 00:16:30
    acid
  • 00:16:31
    we will start becoming like a gel
  • 00:16:34
    at some point i won't be able to stir it
  • 00:16:36
    anymore
  • 00:16:37
    then we prepare for mixing it with
  • 00:16:40
    cellulose
  • 00:16:44
    [Music]
  • 00:16:46
    so after we complete mixing then we get
  • 00:16:49
    a material which has the consistency of
  • 00:16:51
    play-doh you can take any shape you want
  • 00:16:54
    and that's why it's kind of a bioplastic
  • 00:16:56
    material
  • 00:16:59
    the material is natural and the
  • 00:17:02
    production process
  • 00:17:03
    mimics nature it's done by additive
  • 00:17:06
    manufacturing
  • 00:17:07
    otherwise known as 3d printing this is
  • 00:17:10
    almost how nature produces
  • 00:17:12
    with layer upon layer of material
  • 00:17:14
    forming a final product
  • 00:17:18
    this is very unlike traditional
  • 00:17:19
    manufacturing processes where we use
  • 00:17:21
    stock material and we cut patterns and
  • 00:17:24
    shapes out of it
  • 00:17:25
    and producing a lot of waste so in that
  • 00:17:27
    way actual manufacturing is very
  • 00:17:28
    efficient about material use
  • 00:17:30
    this is actually very similar to how
  • 00:17:32
    production in a sense like
  • 00:17:34
    assembly takes place in nature where
  • 00:17:36
    material is used very efficiently
  • 00:17:38
    because the geometry is something that
  • 00:17:42
    is for free in nature
  • 00:17:43
    but the energy to assemble these complex
  • 00:17:46
    shapes and structures
  • 00:17:48
    is what needs to be minimized right
  • 00:17:50
    because the resources are in scarcity
  • 00:17:52
    this is the relationship
  • 00:17:56
    but also more importantly additive
  • 00:17:58
    manufacturing is a general manufacturing
  • 00:18:00
    technology so you can literally or in
  • 00:18:03
    theory fabricate
  • 00:18:04
    any any object so that allow us to also
  • 00:18:07
    decentralize the production with natural
  • 00:18:09
    materials and that's key
  • 00:18:10
    because biological materials are
  • 00:18:12
    everywhere the potential of these
  • 00:18:13
    materials that are distributed
  • 00:18:15
    everywhere in the world
  • 00:18:16
    and have a technology that also you can
  • 00:18:18
    distribute everywhere in the world so
  • 00:18:20
    they are like a perfect match
  • 00:18:22
    between the concept of biomaterial and
  • 00:18:24
    the concept of additive manufacturing
  • 00:18:28
    applications of biomaterials are still
  • 00:18:30
    in the research
  • 00:18:31
    phase but the prospects appear vast
  • 00:18:35
    equally promising is the abundance of
  • 00:18:37
    sources of raw materials
  • 00:18:39
    kaitin one of the building blocks in
  • 00:18:41
    this recipe
  • 00:18:42
    can be found within the city
  • 00:18:46
    that story starts here at a suburb in
  • 00:18:49
    densely populated urban singapore
  • 00:18:52
    an unlikely place for a farm
  • 00:18:54
    [Music]
  • 00:18:56
    breeds a very useful species of flies
  • 00:18:59
    hi guys morning when we begin the farm
  • 00:19:02
    was a bit of shot in the dark
  • 00:19:03
    because there is no such thing being
  • 00:19:06
    done in singapore before
  • 00:19:07
    and even in the region kaning farms
  • 00:19:11
    black soldier flies which feed on food
  • 00:19:13
    waste
  • 00:19:14
    donated by soybean product manufacturers
  • 00:19:16
    and beer brewers
  • 00:19:18
    the flies have voracious appetites and
  • 00:19:21
    multiply by up to 500 times
  • 00:19:24
    they produce fertilizer from their
  • 00:19:26
    feasts and
  • 00:19:27
    nutritious animal feed from frozen
  • 00:19:30
    larvae
  • 00:19:31
    insecta earns part of its revenue from
  • 00:19:33
    the sale of these products
  • 00:19:35
    the word circular economy actually
  • 00:19:37
    comprises two parts
  • 00:19:39
    we have circular meaning sustainable
  • 00:19:42
    everything that we do
  • 00:19:43
    has to help the environment has to have
  • 00:19:45
    an ecological benefit
  • 00:19:47
    and the second part is economy which
  • 00:19:49
    means it also needs to make
  • 00:19:51
    dollars and cents as well in the way
  • 00:19:54
    that we reimagine our production system
  • 00:19:55
    it can't be bleeding money
  • 00:19:57
    it has to make both ecological and
  • 00:19:59
    economic sense
  • 00:20:07
    animal feed and fertilizer are just part
  • 00:20:09
    of the business
  • 00:20:10
    insecta is fundamentally a biotech
  • 00:20:13
    company
  • 00:20:14
    their lab activities are housed at the
  • 00:20:17
    institute of chemical and engineering
  • 00:20:18
    sciences at singapore's agency for
  • 00:20:21
    science technology and research
  • 00:20:23
    and supported by enterprise singapore
  • 00:20:27
    chief scientist poa jun wei is working
  • 00:20:30
    on a way to extract
  • 00:20:31
    valuable materials from byproducts of
  • 00:20:34
    the black soldier fly industry
  • 00:20:39
    so these are the raw materials from the
  • 00:20:42
    black soldier fly industry
  • 00:20:44
    inside these by-products are loads of
  • 00:20:47
    biomaterials
  • 00:20:48
    that we can use for the benefit of
  • 00:20:50
    society
  • 00:20:51
    we first remove all the minerals and
  • 00:20:53
    proteins that are stuck
  • 00:20:54
    in these by-products and we end up with
  • 00:20:58
    chitin so chitin is typically found in
  • 00:21:01
    the exoskeleton
  • 00:21:02
    of crustaceans and insects from chitin
  • 00:21:04
    we then turn it into
  • 00:21:06
    kaito-san kaito-san has a wide
  • 00:21:10
    variety of uses from pharmaceuticals to
  • 00:21:13
    alternative foods
  • 00:21:15
    all the way to agriculture in
  • 00:21:17
    agriculture
  • 00:21:18
    chitosan is used to promote seed growth
  • 00:21:21
    and to help plants
  • 00:21:22
    fight fungal infections in medicine
  • 00:21:25
    it's used in bandages to reduce bleeding
  • 00:21:29
    and its antibacterial qualities make it
  • 00:21:31
    useful for preventing infections in
  • 00:21:33
    wounds
  • 00:21:34
    because it's biocompatible meaning it's
  • 00:21:37
    completely safe in our bodies
  • 00:21:39
    it's also being researched as an
  • 00:21:41
    efficient way to deliver drugs
  • 00:21:43
    to specific locations
  • 00:21:46
    kaitosan is typically refined from
  • 00:21:48
    chitin
  • 00:21:49
    which comes from the shells of
  • 00:21:51
    crustaceans
  • 00:21:53
    but the important thing to understand is
  • 00:21:54
    that it comes from
  • 00:21:56
    a not so sustainable sauce people can
  • 00:21:58
    say that it comes from
  • 00:21:59
    waste because shrimp shells and crab
  • 00:22:01
    shells are waste but it is still a
  • 00:22:03
    consumption of marine resources and we
  • 00:22:05
    know
  • 00:22:06
    that when people make kaito-san they can
  • 00:22:08
    actually harvest marine resources
  • 00:22:09
    specifically for this purpose
  • 00:22:12
    jinwei is working on a patented process
  • 00:22:15
    that uses black soldier flies
  • 00:22:17
    a much more sustainable source
  • 00:22:20
    the other star product that could be
  • 00:22:23
    extracted from the fly
  • 00:22:24
    is melanin in the biomaterial industry
  • 00:22:27
    melanin has been given the nickname
  • 00:22:29
    black gold
  • 00:22:30
    and that doesn't only refer to its value
  • 00:22:33
    like it's worth a few hundred dollars a
  • 00:22:35
    gram at the moment
  • 00:22:36
    but also its potential uses
  • 00:22:40
    because melanin is biocompatible it can
  • 00:22:43
    one day be used in electronics
  • 00:22:45
    meant to be inserted into the human body
  • 00:22:47
    without the fear
  • 00:22:48
    of heavy metals leaching out another use
  • 00:22:52
    for melanin which is very very promising
  • 00:22:54
    is where it can help with ct scans as
  • 00:22:56
    well as mri scans
  • 00:22:57
    and one more huge use of melanin its
  • 00:23:00
    ability to diagnose
  • 00:23:02
    and treat certain cancers
  • 00:23:05
    insecta is pioneering the extraction of
  • 00:23:08
    melanin from black soldier flies
  • 00:23:11
    it's a discovery that promises to make
  • 00:23:12
    melanin far more accessible
  • 00:23:15
    it also opens doors to exciting new
  • 00:23:17
    innovations that could benefit mankind
  • 00:23:20
    all of the technologies that utilize
  • 00:23:23
    melanin are
  • 00:23:23
    all stuck in the academic phase they
  • 00:23:26
    talk about
  • 00:23:27
    their amazing inventions and people will
  • 00:23:29
    ask them but where are you going to get
  • 00:23:31
    this melanin from
  • 00:23:32
    now they can actually say that there's
  • 00:23:34
    an unprecedented and endless supply of
  • 00:23:37
    melanin that could be extracted
  • 00:23:38
    indirectly from food waste and thereby
  • 00:23:41
    it helps their technology stand a chance
  • 00:23:43
    at going to market
  • 00:23:46
    high-value bio-materials made from food
  • 00:23:49
    waste
  • 00:23:50
    and black soldier flies chua kai ning
  • 00:23:53
    says she's proud to see the circular
  • 00:23:55
    economy happen right before her
  • 00:23:57
    eyes my grandfather was a grangoony man
  • 00:24:02
    for one thing so this concept of
  • 00:24:05
    recycling waste i guess has
  • 00:24:07
    subconsciously been inculcated in our
  • 00:24:10
    family
  • 00:24:11
    and the way we do things so that
  • 00:24:13
    definitely carried over to my
  • 00:24:15
    career so my passion it honestly lies in
  • 00:24:19
    waist valorization i hate
  • 00:24:22
    the idea that things goes to waste
  • 00:24:36
    [Music]
  • 00:24:42
    what do we leave behind and how can we
  • 00:24:45
    make a change
  • 00:24:46
    to the environment we're living in the
  • 00:24:47
    things that really affected me when i
  • 00:24:49
    was growing up was i didn't really think
  • 00:24:51
    about where my waste was going
  • 00:24:53
    but as i started learning more about the
  • 00:24:56
    influence of
  • 00:24:57
    my waste my own carbon footprint i
  • 00:24:59
    realized it actually is not just a
  • 00:25:01
    problem for the policy makers it's also
  • 00:25:02
    a problem for
  • 00:25:03
    us as singaporeans
  • 00:25:07
    singapore is a food paradise but it also
  • 00:25:10
    has a messy problem with food waste
  • 00:25:13
    in 2020 singapore generated more than
  • 00:25:16
    650 000 tons of it a lot of food gone to
  • 00:25:20
    waste
  • 00:25:21
    for a city of just 5.8 million people
  • 00:25:25
    part of our research that we're trying
  • 00:25:26
    to do here is try to reduce
  • 00:25:29
    our negative impacts on the environment
  • 00:25:31
    so that's the big picture
  • 00:25:33
    and why not use these humble insects
  • 00:25:36
    who've already been doing this
  • 00:25:37
    for millions of years they've been
  • 00:25:40
    converting waste very efficiently
  • 00:25:42
    now why not modify them for our purpose
  • 00:25:45
    so that
  • 00:25:45
    they can help us in well reducing our
  • 00:25:48
    own
  • 00:25:48
    environmental footprints
  • 00:25:50
    [Music]
  • 00:25:53
    cultivates a special breed of black
  • 00:25:55
    soldier flies
  • 00:25:58
    to thrive in a landscape city like
  • 00:26:00
    singapore
  • 00:26:01
    the flies must learn to mate in much
  • 00:26:03
    smaller spaces
  • 00:26:06
    so black soldier flies generally made in
  • 00:26:08
    really large spaces
  • 00:26:10
    about 10 times the size of this cage
  • 00:26:12
    here now through selective breeding
  • 00:26:14
    we've managed to reduce
  • 00:26:16
    the amount of space that's required to
  • 00:26:18
    establish a culture
  • 00:26:20
    of black soldier flies they then made
  • 00:26:22
    the next generations
  • 00:26:24
    so what we have here is little
  • 00:26:25
    substrates that mimic food waste
  • 00:26:28
    so they attract the females to come
  • 00:26:29
    there and so when the females are
  • 00:26:31
    attracted then the males then
  • 00:26:33
    have a well a night out
  • 00:26:36
    [Music]
  • 00:26:37
    it's by trial and error most of science
  • 00:26:39
    is by trial and error
  • 00:26:40
    and that's how we've managed to come up
  • 00:26:42
    with singaporean
  • 00:26:44
    lineages or flies that can meet in much
  • 00:26:46
    smaller spaces
  • 00:26:49
    what drives the research is a vision to
  • 00:26:52
    close the loop on food waste
  • 00:26:54
    black soldier flies devour food waste
  • 00:26:57
    but singaporean ones
  • 00:26:59
    require pallets that are finely tempered
  • 00:27:02
    we put it in these blue drums for
  • 00:27:04
    fermentation we add lactobacillus
  • 00:27:07
    to ferment the food this not only breaks
  • 00:27:09
    down the food to help the digestion of
  • 00:27:11
    maggots
  • 00:27:12
    it also prolongs the life of a food so i
  • 00:27:15
    can keep the food for up to six months
  • 00:27:16
    without going there one of the biggest
  • 00:27:19
    challenges for us is to try and use
  • 00:27:22
    local strains of black soldier flies
  • 00:27:24
    that can be adapted
  • 00:27:26
    to breaking down diverse food waste so
  • 00:27:29
    food that
  • 00:27:29
    sometimes might be spicy food that is
  • 00:27:31
    salty which is very common with our food
  • 00:27:34
    and food that is rich in carbohydrates
  • 00:27:36
    which is quite indicative of an asian
  • 00:27:38
    diet too
  • 00:27:39
    this is basically what used to be your
  • 00:27:42
    chicken rice what used to be biryani is
  • 00:27:45
    now
  • 00:27:45
    a very homogenous mixture of larvae
  • 00:27:49
    and the fresh and this fresh can be
  • 00:27:52
    sifted out
  • 00:27:53
    and can be composted to grow leafy
  • 00:27:56
    vegetables
  • 00:27:56
    and the larvae can be processed into
  • 00:27:58
    animal feed
  • 00:28:02
    the research that comes out of our lab
  • 00:28:03
    is done by graduate students
  • 00:28:05
    undergraduates
  • 00:28:06
    research assistants and postdocs so i'm
  • 00:28:09
    mainly just
  • 00:28:10
    living off the aisle wonderful efforts
  • 00:28:13
    send these samples for chemical analysis
  • 00:28:16
    seeing the next generation getting
  • 00:28:19
    excited about science
  • 00:28:20
    and making changes that affects their
  • 00:28:22
    own country for instance
  • 00:28:24
    that's rewarding and my little input
  • 00:28:27
    saying that this is what we have done
  • 00:28:29
    for our community
  • 00:28:30
    that would be rewarding in the long run
  • 00:28:36
    while research to valorize food waste
  • 00:28:38
    continues
  • 00:28:39
    elsewhere in the city another lab pushes
  • 00:28:41
    frontiers
  • 00:28:42
    on tackling a growing problem with a
  • 00:28:45
    different sort of waste
  • 00:28:47
    madavi srinivasan is working on an
  • 00:28:50
    environmentally friendly way to recycle
  • 00:28:52
    electronic waste this is a collaborative
  • 00:28:55
    venture between singapore's nanyang
  • 00:28:57
    technological university or
  • 00:28:59
    ntu and the french alternative energies
  • 00:29:02
    and atomic energy commission
  • 00:29:03
    the cea for short research starts at the
  • 00:29:07
    typically tedious
  • 00:29:08
    and expensive task of sorting e-waste
  • 00:29:12
    i'm working on the sorting of electronic
  • 00:29:14
    components and this artificial
  • 00:29:16
    intelligence is recognizing different
  • 00:29:18
    components
  • 00:29:19
    so it works with a simple camera which
  • 00:29:21
    is recognizing the shape
  • 00:29:23
    so they're going to be sorting different
  • 00:29:25
    beans and then we can recover the
  • 00:29:27
    different elements
  • 00:29:28
    from the different batteries
  • 00:29:32
    electronic waste contains precious
  • 00:29:33
    materials like gold
  • 00:29:35
    silver copper lithium and manganese
  • 00:29:38
    their mined from the earth and supply is
  • 00:29:41
    limited
  • 00:29:43
    the conventional approach for recovering
  • 00:29:45
    these materials
  • 00:29:46
    and recycling e-waste uses
  • 00:29:49
    pyrometallurgy
  • 00:29:51
    that's cooking everything to a
  • 00:29:52
    temperature as high as a thousand
  • 00:29:54
    degrees celsius
  • 00:29:55
    then recovering precious materials from
  • 00:29:57
    the melted mass
  • 00:29:59
    it's an expensive process requiring big
  • 00:30:02
    machines
  • 00:30:03
    and large investments it also produces
  • 00:30:06
    toxic fumes and some precious materials
  • 00:30:09
    like lithium and manganese
  • 00:30:11
    can't be recovered from the process this
  • 00:30:14
    lab
  • 00:30:14
    uses a different approach it's called
  • 00:30:17
    hydro metallurgy hydro metallurgy is a
  • 00:30:22
    process which uses
  • 00:30:23
    water rather than heat we work with
  • 00:30:26
    water or any solvents
  • 00:30:28
    so in the classical hydro metallurgy
  • 00:30:31
    approach
  • 00:30:31
    what people do is rather than using high
  • 00:30:34
    temperature they use
  • 00:30:35
    concentrated acids to dissolve the
  • 00:30:37
    batteries
  • 00:30:38
    these concentrated at acids leaches out
  • 00:30:41
    elements that are present inside the
  • 00:30:43
    batteries
  • 00:30:44
    our approach is to use environmentally
  • 00:30:47
    friendly
  • 00:30:48
    solvents to use waste to treat waste
  • 00:30:52
    we also found that there is another
  • 00:30:54
    stream of waste food waste which is a
  • 00:30:56
    big concern
  • 00:30:57
    especially in singapore so we were
  • 00:30:59
    thinking of how do we combine
  • 00:31:01
    these two streams
  • 00:31:04
    we turn to fruit peels waste because it
  • 00:31:07
    actually is a rich source of
  • 00:31:08
    organic acid as well as reducing agents
  • 00:31:10
    such as glucose
  • 00:31:12
    and antioxidants which can also help in
  • 00:31:14
    the extraction of metals
  • 00:31:16
    in the hydro methodology process initial
  • 00:31:19
    result shows that
  • 00:31:20
    actually the other pure weights which
  • 00:31:21
    may potentially be more effective than
  • 00:31:23
    orange peel
  • 00:31:25
    singapore's research into e-waste
  • 00:31:27
    recycling will pay off
  • 00:31:29
    with big dividends there's a nationwide
  • 00:31:32
    green plan being rolled out an energy
  • 00:31:35
    reset calls for less energy consumed
  • 00:31:37
    a switch to cleaner and renewable fuels
  • 00:31:40
    and a big push
  • 00:31:41
    for electric vehicles
  • 00:31:44
    at some point these evs will reach an
  • 00:31:46
    end of life and what do we do about it
  • 00:31:49
    will be the question so if singapore can
  • 00:31:52
    play a part
  • 00:31:53
    both in in this value chain of e-waste
  • 00:31:55
    recycling extracting these materials and
  • 00:31:58
    supplying
  • 00:31:59
    to the neighboring countries that would
  • 00:32:01
    be your value creation
  • 00:32:02
    on the other hand it can also be in hub
  • 00:32:04
    for e-waste recycling
  • 00:32:06
    where batteries that are generated in
  • 00:32:09
    the vicinity
  • 00:32:10
    can be recycled some part of it and
  • 00:32:12
    singapore can be a material
  • 00:32:14
    manufacturer producing the materials
  • 00:32:17
    this lab makes new lithium-ion batteries
  • 00:32:21
    from recycled cobalt lithium nickel
  • 00:32:23
    manganese and other precious materials
  • 00:32:26
    all extracted from old batteries matavi
  • 00:32:30
    studies how her research on recycling
  • 00:32:32
    could be commercialized
  • 00:32:35
    so once we have the recycled materials
  • 00:32:37
    either an anode or a cathode
  • 00:32:40
    we bring it to this facility and what
  • 00:32:42
    comes out of the dry room is the final
  • 00:32:44
    finished battery
  • 00:32:46
    i'm extremely excited i think the
  • 00:32:47
    prospect of uh
  • 00:32:49
    making new batteries from old batteries
  • 00:32:51
    is fantastic and it really gives a very
  • 00:32:53
    new dimension
  • 00:32:54
    to the world circular economy
  • 00:32:58
    but harvey's research in ntu is in
  • 00:33:00
    collaboration with the cea
  • 00:33:05
    it's here in the town of markkul in
  • 00:33:07
    france
  • 00:33:09
    this is the cea markle center founded
  • 00:33:12
    more than 65 years ago
  • 00:33:14
    in 1955. the center has a long history
  • 00:33:18
    of studying nuclear waste recycling
  • 00:33:21
    it taps on that know-how to discover new
  • 00:33:24
    ways
  • 00:33:25
    to recycle electronic waste
  • 00:33:29
    i'm really optimistic because we build
  • 00:33:32
    up the future
  • 00:33:33
    it is very important to answer the
  • 00:33:36
    question of the available materials
  • 00:33:38
    the frame of this alliance between the
  • 00:33:40
    ca
  • 00:33:41
    and ntu we will take in account
  • 00:33:43
    different kind of waste
  • 00:33:45
    in order to produce a new high value
  • 00:33:48
    product
  • 00:33:48
    which can fit in a value chain of a new
  • 00:33:51
    economic model
  • 00:33:52
    and then to develop low impact processes
  • 00:33:55
    for the recycling of waste
  • 00:33:59
    in 2019 more than 50 million metric tons
  • 00:34:03
    of e-waste were generated
  • 00:34:06
    it's the fastest growing domestic waste
  • 00:34:08
    stream globally
  • 00:34:10
    much of it is toxic and it will grow
  • 00:34:13
    as populations grow and as more people
  • 00:34:16
    can afford the gadgets
  • 00:34:17
    that we just can't live without nowadays
  • 00:34:20
    today barely 20 percent is recycled
  • 00:34:24
    we only have one earth and the amount of
  • 00:34:27
    resource available
  • 00:34:28
    is limited the population increase so at
  • 00:34:31
    some point you'll have a crush point
  • 00:34:33
    and if you want to avoid that crash
  • 00:34:34
    point the best way is to imitate life
  • 00:34:37
    and to go from ash to ash from the to
  • 00:34:39
    dirt
  • 00:34:40
    and to allow a system that is extremely
  • 00:34:43
    effective
  • 00:34:44
    that consume as little resource as
  • 00:34:45
    possible and whatever resource you use
  • 00:34:48
    you recycle
  • 00:34:48
    [Music]
  • 00:34:59
    buildings are among the biggest culprits
  • 00:35:02
    of resource depletion
  • 00:35:04
    they consume 35 of all the world's
  • 00:35:07
    energy
  • 00:35:08
    and in constructing them 40 percent of
  • 00:35:10
    the world's resources
  • 00:35:13
    the world is on a search for a more
  • 00:35:15
    sustainable way to build
  • 00:35:17
    built environments a circular way
  • 00:35:21
    [Music]
  • 00:35:24
    one company in taipei is a trailblazer
  • 00:35:27
    in circular design
  • 00:35:29
    [Music]
  • 00:35:31
    architect arthur huang co-founded mini
  • 00:35:33
    whiz
  • 00:35:35
    the outfit makes products fixtures and
  • 00:35:38
    buildings all up-cycled from industrial
  • 00:35:41
    and consumer waste arthur wants to show
  • 00:35:45
    the world
  • 00:35:45
    the unlimited potential of trash
  • 00:35:49
    a lot of people are talking about
  • 00:35:50
    beautiful built environment but what if
  • 00:35:52
    the beauty
  • 00:35:53
    come at the expense of toxicity
  • 00:35:57
    come at the expense of killing
  • 00:35:59
    rainforests
  • 00:36:00
    come at the expense of blowing up a
  • 00:36:02
    mountain just to get that piece of
  • 00:36:04
    marble
  • 00:36:04
    out to your bathroom i'm educated as an
  • 00:36:08
    engineer and an architect
  • 00:36:09
    so i know the importance of beauty about
  • 00:36:12
    mimicking nature on the formal level on
  • 00:36:15
    the design level
  • 00:36:17
    but on the engineering side you want to
  • 00:36:19
    solve a problem
  • 00:36:20
    that we all collectively face and that's
  • 00:36:23
    i think that is
  • 00:36:24
    where i think most designer architect
  • 00:36:26
    has to go
  • 00:36:28
    the company's latest design helps
  • 00:36:30
    hospitals in their fight against covid19
  • 00:36:34
    this is the world's first modular and
  • 00:36:36
    pandemic ready hospital ward
  • 00:36:38
    it can be assembled in less than two
  • 00:36:41
    days
  • 00:36:42
    and almost 80 percent of it is made from
  • 00:36:44
    recycled materials
  • 00:36:46
    we use our engineering capability to
  • 00:36:49
    basically turn
  • 00:36:50
    locally collected recycled material like
  • 00:36:53
    aluminium
  • 00:36:54
    recycled polypropylene polyethylene from
  • 00:36:56
    the medical waste industry
  • 00:36:58
    and also from our typical single-use
  • 00:37:01
    bottles
  • 00:37:02
    and even mask ppe that we throw away
  • 00:37:05
    and we want to use that to upgrade
  • 00:37:07
    existing medical infrastructure
  • 00:37:09
    and to create the most valuable asset
  • 00:37:13
    in the most difficult time the most
  • 00:37:15
    valuable asset right now
  • 00:37:17
    is pandemic ready icu's mini whiz
  • 00:37:22
    wants people to see recycled materials
  • 00:37:25
    as things of value
  • 00:37:27
    to be prized more than marble wood brass
  • 00:37:30
    or any other exotic traditional material
  • 00:37:36
    if consumer has that consciousness yes
  • 00:37:39
    the real estate developer will follow
  • 00:37:42
    the government will follow
  • 00:37:43
    and the consumer then has to prove or
  • 00:37:46
    help this whole process
  • 00:37:48
    to show that there is a market demand
  • 00:37:50
    for that and the market demand for that
  • 00:37:53
    i think consumers need a lot more
  • 00:37:55
    education
  • 00:37:56
    and inspirations and i'm sure the
  • 00:37:59
    younger generation
  • 00:38:00
    prefer not to have marbles from brazil
  • 00:38:03
    i really are confident with that
  • 00:38:05
    [Music]
  • 00:38:09
    sustainability has become this badge
  • 00:38:11
    that you stick on everything
  • 00:38:13
    just to kind of give this green veil as
  • 00:38:16
    to
  • 00:38:16
    ensuring that it might be good for the
  • 00:38:18
    environment sustainable thinking
  • 00:38:19
    and circular thinking goes far deeper
  • 00:38:21
    than that it's not just about
  • 00:38:23
    social economic or environmental issues
  • 00:38:25
    and people championing
  • 00:38:27
    the environmental cause it's also
  • 00:38:28
    thinking carefully about space culture
  • 00:38:30
    and technology
  • 00:38:32
    jason pomeroy is an author academic and
  • 00:38:34
    architect
  • 00:38:35
    who's one of the world's foremost
  • 00:38:37
    experts on sustainable design
  • 00:38:40
    jason built singapore's first carbon
  • 00:38:42
    negative residential building
  • 00:38:44
    but it's not just energy he wants to be
  • 00:38:46
    frugal about
  • 00:38:48
    jason wants to get people thinking about
  • 00:38:50
    making the most of
  • 00:38:52
    every single resource even space
  • 00:38:57
    how can we recycle space how can we look
  • 00:39:00
    at space for instance
  • 00:39:02
    not just for a period of time about 24
  • 00:39:04
    hours that is
  • 00:39:05
    optimizing the use of one thing and
  • 00:39:07
    extending its life cycle because
  • 00:39:10
    you've designed it in such a way to give
  • 00:39:12
    greater meaning
  • 00:39:13
    it's not just about designing something
  • 00:39:15
    for one purpose it should be doing
  • 00:39:17
    four five six or seven things and by
  • 00:39:20
    having that element of flexibility and
  • 00:39:22
    adaptability
  • 00:39:23
    that is truly sustainable that is also
  • 00:39:25
    circular thinking because
  • 00:39:26
    it extends the life cycle of that
  • 00:39:28
    particular product or system
  • 00:39:30
    another way to reduce waste is by simply
  • 00:39:34
    not demolishing buildings since the
  • 00:39:36
    1970s
  • 00:39:38
    singapore has taken steps to conserve
  • 00:39:40
    its architectural heritage
  • 00:39:42
    the practice has done much to enliven
  • 00:39:44
    the city's culture
  • 00:39:47
    we just need to be conscious that
  • 00:39:49
    circularity
  • 00:39:51
    is about designing out the waste and
  • 00:39:53
    making sure that we can really
  • 00:39:55
    retain some product or system for as
  • 00:39:58
    long as possible without changing before
  • 00:39:59
    we start thinking about
  • 00:40:01
    what other uses can come out of it the
  • 00:40:04
    colonial shop house is a wonderful
  • 00:40:06
    example of how
  • 00:40:07
    the bricks and mortar of this heritage
  • 00:40:09
    type structure
  • 00:40:10
    has stood the test of time from a place
  • 00:40:13
    to live and work
  • 00:40:14
    to sometimes today being used as a bar
  • 00:40:17
    or restaurant
  • 00:40:18
    or a micro office or even a residence
  • 00:40:22
    that to me is the ability to try and
  • 00:40:25
    show
  • 00:40:26
    how adaptable a structure can be and
  • 00:40:28
    therefore how
  • 00:40:29
    the circular thinking can take root
  • 00:40:32
    elsewhere in the city
  • 00:40:34
    a new building demonstrates circularity
  • 00:40:36
    in a different way it is on the grounds
  • 00:40:38
    of the national university of
  • 00:40:40
    singapore's school of design and
  • 00:40:41
    environment
  • 00:40:42
    this is southeast asia's first zero
  • 00:40:45
    energy building
  • 00:40:46
    lam kipo is the dean of the school he's
  • 00:40:48
    also served as building performance
  • 00:40:50
    consultant
  • 00:40:51
    for several award-winning projects in
  • 00:40:53
    singapore china
  • 00:40:55
    and the united states a lot of these
  • 00:40:57
    common places
  • 00:40:59
    need not be any condition we can
  • 00:41:01
    actually
  • 00:41:02
    provide those spaces with natural
  • 00:41:04
    ventilation and natural conditioning
  • 00:41:07
    and that again will save a lot of energy
  • 00:41:10
    in this space now the temperature is
  • 00:41:12
    about 26 degrees
  • 00:41:14
    celsius indoor air quality here
  • 00:41:17
    the co2 is just like outside now the
  • 00:41:19
    hybrid system
  • 00:41:20
    combines traditional air conditioning
  • 00:41:23
    with
  • 00:41:24
    ceiling fans and it is this combination
  • 00:41:27
    that
  • 00:41:27
    enables us to have the comfort condition
  • 00:41:31
    while not making the air too cold
  • 00:41:34
    and therefore saving energy the building
  • 00:41:37
    generates its own
  • 00:41:38
    power over a thousand solar panels cover
  • 00:41:42
    its roof
  • 00:41:43
    providing enough electricity to power
  • 00:41:45
    over a hundred apartments for one year
  • 00:41:48
    in recent tests the building has
  • 00:41:51
    actually surpassed its net zero energy
  • 00:41:53
    target
  • 00:41:54
    generating more energy than what it used
  • 00:41:57
    it offers learning points for new
  • 00:41:59
    developments in singapore
  • 00:42:03
    you just cannot have an architect design
  • 00:42:05
    a nice building you cannot just have an
  • 00:42:07
    engineer design
  • 00:42:08
    an efficient engineering system we need
  • 00:42:11
    to
  • 00:42:11
    coordinate and integrate this
  • 00:42:14
    multiple disciplines to come up with
  • 00:42:18
    creative and innovative solutions that
  • 00:42:21
    will tackle this
  • 00:42:22
    very complex problems we need to
  • 00:42:25
    be much more conscious and conscientious
  • 00:42:28
    about our relationship
  • 00:42:30
    to the natural environment and to the
  • 00:42:32
    ecosystems
  • 00:42:34
    and learn to live in a harmonious way
  • 00:42:37
    and not try to do funny stuff
  • 00:42:39
    [Music]
  • 00:42:41
    in singapore urban landscapes are being
  • 00:42:44
    re-imagined
  • 00:42:46
    these pinks are picking up the adaptive
  • 00:42:49
    reused buildings is that what that color
  • 00:42:51
    is meant to indicate
  • 00:42:52
    nirmal kishani and swinal samant are
  • 00:42:55
    compiling ideas from a recent project to
  • 00:42:57
    redesign an
  • 00:42:58
    industrial estate the project was
  • 00:43:01
    supported by singapore's
  • 00:43:02
    jtc corporation what is the legend of
  • 00:43:05
    this
  • 00:43:06
    building this was the site under study
  • 00:43:10
    sungai kadot is one of singapore's
  • 00:43:12
    oldest industrial estates
  • 00:43:14
    it houses factories warehouses and
  • 00:43:16
    workshops built in the 1970s
  • 00:43:19
    which played a key role in singapore's
  • 00:43:21
    industrial growth
  • 00:43:24
    the truth is we don't know exactly what
  • 00:43:26
    the future is going to bring
  • 00:43:28
    the kinds of industries the kinds of
  • 00:43:30
    businesses
  • 00:43:31
    that an estate like sunny cardot will
  • 00:43:34
    hold
  • 00:43:35
    in 10 20 years from now may not have
  • 00:43:38
    been
  • 00:43:38
    imagined yet so how do we plan for this
  • 00:43:42
    how do we
  • 00:43:43
    delimit the possibilities okay so we see
  • 00:43:46
    our waterfront as a way to
  • 00:43:48
    celebrate the industrial heritage studio
  • 00:43:50
    discussions like these bring up
  • 00:43:52
    interesting new ideas on how industrial
  • 00:43:54
    sites could be circular
  • 00:43:56
    and as a result more efficient tell us
  • 00:43:59
    how
  • 00:43:59
    the logistical systems and automation
  • 00:44:02
    plays a part in this
  • 00:44:03
    redefine our circularity in terms of
  • 00:44:05
    movement of resources within the
  • 00:44:07
    building levels
  • 00:44:09
    for a start energy logistics and
  • 00:44:12
    technology streams flow in a closed loop
  • 00:44:15
    so resources move easily between one
  • 00:44:17
    industry and another
  • 00:44:18
    that's the hardware for the software
  • 00:44:21
    it's about
  • 00:44:22
    having overlapping industries so waste
  • 00:44:24
    from one industry
  • 00:44:25
    becomes a useful resource for another in
  • 00:44:28
    this way
  • 00:44:29
    synergies across the industries are
  • 00:44:31
    created work becomes more efficient
  • 00:44:34
    and the district more vibrant and
  • 00:44:36
    livable
  • 00:44:39
    so in the old sugar cardo the landscape
  • 00:44:41
    is mono-functional it's factories with
  • 00:44:43
    no amenities
  • 00:44:44
    nothing other than a place to work in
  • 00:44:47
    the proposed sunny cardot we introduce
  • 00:44:50
    shops and amenities and exhibition
  • 00:44:51
    spaces and vibrant waterfronts
  • 00:44:53
    there are secondhand markets and farmers
  • 00:44:56
    markets
  • 00:44:57
    spatially the master plan is subdivided
  • 00:45:00
    into three zones
  • 00:45:01
    they are the factory in a forest the
  • 00:45:04
    industrial incubator
  • 00:45:05
    and the emergent village the idea is to
  • 00:45:09
    have a high-rise factory that is
  • 00:45:11
    vertically stacked
  • 00:45:12
    with solar panels and an agro-tech farm
  • 00:45:15
    on the upper levels
  • 00:45:16
    on the lower levels are residences
  • 00:45:19
    workspaces for creative industries
  • 00:45:21
    and industrial production underground
  • 00:45:24
    there's a large basement
  • 00:45:25
    which forms the logistics hub of the
  • 00:45:28
    estate
  • 00:45:28
    that leaves space on the ground freed
  • 00:45:31
    for the entire
  • 00:45:32
    community to enjoy instead of having a
  • 00:45:35
    building that is all factory we have
  • 00:45:37
    buildings that are multiple users they
  • 00:45:40
    are multi-layered with different
  • 00:45:41
    programs
  • 00:45:42
    and the proportion of these programs
  • 00:45:44
    changes over time
  • 00:45:46
    not all ideas from normal and swinell's
  • 00:45:48
    design studio might make it to the
  • 00:45:50
    eventual plan
  • 00:45:51
    but a rejuvenated sungla cadet could
  • 00:45:54
    herald the first steps towards a
  • 00:45:55
    reimagining of manufacturing
  • 00:45:57
    and an embracing of circularity in a big
  • 00:46:00
    way
  • 00:46:01
    singapore will get an economic boost
  • 00:46:03
    because it has new businesses and
  • 00:46:04
    innovation and manufacturing
  • 00:46:07
    singaporeans will have new places where
  • 00:46:08
    they can
  • 00:46:09
    work and they can play and they can see
  • 00:46:11
    and they can learn and they can make and
  • 00:46:14
    buy
  • 00:46:15
    it can be a very good model that
  • 00:46:18
    champions
  • 00:46:19
    new industries and the way in which we
  • 00:46:22
    develop our industrial landscape
  • 00:46:25
    and bring in neighborhood planning
  • 00:46:26
    within those industrial
  • 00:46:28
    landscapes and in doing so we address
  • 00:46:30
    the very important
  • 00:46:32
    issue of waste in our environment
  • 00:46:36
    the biggest win perhaps is that as a
  • 00:46:38
    nation
  • 00:46:39
    we manage to reduce our impact on the
  • 00:46:41
    planet
  • 00:46:45
    progress on that mission has been made
  • 00:46:47
    in different ways
  • 00:46:48
    in different parts of the city
  • 00:46:53
    this is a black soldier fly facility and
  • 00:46:56
    it's manned by volunteers mostly
  • 00:46:58
    residents in the area
  • 00:47:01
    i actually signed up out of curiosity
  • 00:47:03
    wanted to find out
  • 00:47:05
    how this small little thing can help to
  • 00:47:07
    break down food
  • 00:47:08
    at first i was not very comfortable with
  • 00:47:11
    them but after a while
  • 00:47:12
    you find that they don't bike they'll
  • 00:47:14
    love it don't bite they're harmless
  • 00:47:16
    quite cute if you look at them so after
  • 00:47:18
    a while you get used to them yeah
  • 00:47:21
    i live here in block 143 and i'm
  • 00:47:24
    basically retired
  • 00:47:26
    it gives me some way to pay back the
  • 00:47:28
    community you know to do something for
  • 00:47:30
    the community
  • 00:47:31
    food waste gets donated by residents
  • 00:47:34
    every morning
  • 00:47:35
    it's welcomed by the larvae they'll eat
  • 00:47:38
    up to four times their body weight in a
  • 00:47:40
    single day
  • 00:47:43
    i can tell you for this community at
  • 00:47:45
    least since the project has started more
  • 00:47:47
    than a thousand kilograms of food waste
  • 00:47:50
    that would have been burnt has now been
  • 00:47:52
    repurposed or given a new value
  • 00:47:54
    so that has been converted into frass
  • 00:47:57
    which currently is being used to
  • 00:47:58
    supplement
  • 00:47:59
    vegetable growth in the vertical garden
  • 00:48:05
    you love the food i guess i mean it's so
  • 00:48:07
    rich in fats
  • 00:48:08
    and they're getting good food you see
  • 00:48:11
    we've also produced animal feed
  • 00:48:13
    for the tilapia that are now growing
  • 00:48:14
    strong and plump
  • 00:48:16
    i think it actually kind of brings us
  • 00:48:18
    back to where we came from
  • 00:48:20
    because that's how a lot of our
  • 00:48:21
    community started
  • 00:48:23
    right when we had agriculture we would
  • 00:48:25
    produce something
  • 00:48:26
    and then we would take the leftover to
  • 00:48:28
    make something else
  • 00:48:29
    that's how kampongs existed and kampongs
  • 00:48:31
    actually were one of the more
  • 00:48:32
    sustainable models but now going towards
  • 00:48:36
    an urbanized environment we've kind of
  • 00:48:38
    lost where we came from
  • 00:48:39
    so this way it kind of brings us back to
  • 00:48:41
    our sustainable roots
  • 00:48:43
    and it also i think educates us on our
  • 00:48:45
    own behavior
  • 00:48:46
    how we can change our own practices
  • 00:48:50
    so that we don't leave behind a planet
  • 00:48:52
    that is worse off for our offspring
  • 00:48:54
    [Music]
  • 00:48:58
    the circular economy unlocks bold new
  • 00:49:01
    opportunities for mankind
  • 00:49:03
    to innovate thrive and move the needle
  • 00:49:06
    on climate change
  • 00:49:08
    innovators enterprises and whole
  • 00:49:10
    communities
  • 00:49:11
    are closing the loop on production and
  • 00:49:14
    waste
  • 00:49:15
    they're building a more sustainable
  • 00:49:17
    future for the benefit
  • 00:49:19
    of generations to come
  • 00:49:39
    you
Tags
  • Circular Economy
  • Sustainability
  • Recycling
  • Waste Management
  • Fashion Industry
  • Biomaterials
  • Textile Recycling
  • Innovative Design
  • Community Collaboration
  • Eco-Friendly Solutions