Springtime and the Opportunity of Waste

One of my favorite things to do in Springtime is watch the backyard wildlife awaken after a long winter. Nothing is quite as amusing as the squirrels chasing each-other up and down the columnar aspens, the magpies building their large nests out of foraged items (like my Grandmother’s mittens) and the smaller birds, stuffing the bird houses that my Grandfather built with softened leaves, moss, found fur, and twigs, as they await the arrival of their hatchlings. Last fall, we removed a bird nest from the chimney, and were shocked to find that it was crafted, in large part, from plastic trash from around the neighborhood. That was a moment I will not forget, and I think of it often when I’m picking up litter along our walks.

Another thought that arises when I think of the plastic-woven nest in the chimney, is how nature is adapting to human output. Nature is finding ways to use man made waste, and apply it to a functional cause. Is it that she doesn’t know any better? Or is there wisdom here that we have not yet tapped into? What I find fascinating to think about, is that those birds chose to take the soft, and resilient bits of plastic, and design it in with the twigs, feathers, and usual nest-building materials. I believe that there is something significant to learn from this. My love of biomimicry has taught me that nature, by design, has the answers. How can we apply this practice to our homes and buildings? How can we creatively use what is here now, and consider what other functions a product may have in the future, when producing it? And why are we overlooking this major and ever abundant resource of ‘trash’ when it comes to design? To put it simply, like Chef Doug McMaster of Silo, London’s first Zero Waste Restaurant, says: “Waste is a failure of the imagination,” and Mother Nature is the ultimate crafter of the imaginative.