Master’s Thesis: Human - Waste
Plastics offer significant material benefits, such as durability and versatility, yet their widespread use has led to severe environmental pollution and waste management challenges. This thesis develops alternative concepts for collaborative participation in recycling processes by examining existing waste management systems. Exploring the historical and material context of plastics, it investigates the role of making and hacking as transformative practices in waste revaluation. Drawing on theories from Discard Studies, Material Ecocriticism, and Valuation Studies, it applies methods to examine human-waste relationships and the shifting perception of objects between value and non-value. Practical investigations, including workshop-based experiments with polymer identification and machine-based interventions, provide hands-on insights into the material properties of discarded plastics. These experiments reveal their epistemic potential, leading to the introduction of novel archiving practices and knowledge structures that form an integrated methodology for artistic research and practice. Inspired by the Materialstudien of the Bauhaus Vorkurs, the workshop not only explores material engagement but also offers new insights for educational science, advocating for peer-learning scenarios. Through these approaches, this research fosters a socially transformative relationship with waste, emphasizing participation, design, and speculative material reuse. Findings are evaluated through participant feedback and workshop outcomes, contributing to a broader discussion on waste as both a challenge and an opportunity for sustainable futures and a material reality of the human experience.
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