3.21 Think Circular: Practical Tips to Design Sustainably with Kathryn Soter

"The new thinking is around circularity. The idea of circularity is the circulation of materials at their highest value for the longest period of time. And when you design with circular systems in mind, you are thinking about the end at the beginning, meaning what's going to happen to this product that we're making? What's going to happen to this house that we're designing at the end of life? Can any of these things be reused again? Can they be made into something else? Can you take and use... send the furniture back to the manufacturer and they'll repair it or even keep it and resell it to somebody else. There are companies that do that. " - Kathryn Soter

About a year ago, I interviewed Katie Story, a founder of Good Future Design Alliance, which she created to educate the professionals in the building and designing industry to reduce the massive waste this industry generates forging a radical new path in the world of design. The new executive director, Kathryn Soter, gives us the update on the organization’s missions as well as some practical tips when designing, redesigning and renovating homes or even when we need to replace a piece of furniture to help reduce waste.

• Construction and demolition waste is a massive problem, with 500 million tons generated annually in the US alone. This is equivalent to 100 Great Pyramids of Giza per year.
• There are major health impacts from construction waste, including landfill pollution, emissions, and plastic waste.
• GFDA aims to connect and educate interior designers, architects, contractors, and manufacturers to adopt low-waste practices.
• Homeowners should plan carefully, salvage and reuse materials, and hire trained professionals to reduce waste.

Resources mentioned:

• Chairish
• Renovation Angel
• Rheaply
• FirstDib