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Waste-Driven Design (WDD): A Transdisciplinary Approach to Raw Material Development—A Case Study on Transforming Food Packaging Waste into a Second-Generation Material

Author

Listed:
  • Davide Crippa

    (Department of Design Cultures, Università Iuav di Venezia, 30135 Venice, Italy)

  • Carmen Digiorgio Giannitto

    (Department of Design Cultures, Università Iuav di Venezia, 30135 Venice, Italy
    Department of Architecture and Industrial Design, Università degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, 81100 Caserta, Italy)

  • Barbara Di Prete

    (Department of Design Cultures, Università Iuav di Venezia, 30135 Venice, Italy
    Department of Design, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milano, Italy)

  • Massimiliano Cason Villa

    (Department of Design Cultures, Università Iuav di Venezia, 30135 Venice, Italy)

Abstract

This paper investigates the design potential of post-consumer plastic waste through the Waste Driven Design (WDD) method, developed at IUAV University of Venice and implemented in both experimental and semi-industrial contexts. WDD proposes a situated and transdisciplinary approach, where waste is no longer regarded as a material to be discarded, but as a resource to be explored, transformed, and valorised. Using the Marble CAP case study—a new material derived from non-recyclable food packaging—the paper presents an iterative and scalable design process that combines technical experimentation, material storytelling, and application potential. The stages of the process are examined, from waste collection and cataloguing to the production of pressed sheets, which are tested under various conditions and finishes. The results demonstrate how, in design, material can become a catalyst for new aesthetics, languages, and production chains. Rather than concluding with the formal outcome, the project opens up spaces for critical and operational interventions along the supply chain, highlighting how design can contribute to imagining and activating alternative trajectories for waste transformation.

Suggested Citation

  • Davide Crippa & Carmen Digiorgio Giannitto & Barbara Di Prete & Massimiliano Cason Villa, 2025. "Waste-Driven Design (WDD): A Transdisciplinary Approach to Raw Material Development—A Case Study on Transforming Food Packaging Waste into a Second-Generation Material," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-24, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:20:p:9144-:d:1772157
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Carly Jacobs & Katie Soulliere & Susan Sawyer-Beaulieu & Abir Sabzwari & Edwin Tam, 2022. "Challenges to the Circular Economy: Recovering Wastes from Simple versus Complex Products," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-17, February.
    2. Miriam Ribul & Kate Goldsworthy & Carole Collet, 2021. "Material-Driven Textile Design (MDTD): A Methodology for Designing Circular Material-Driven Fabrication and Finishing Processes in the Materials Science Laboratory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-17, January.
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