Hasta La Ideas

There’s just 22 days of online voting left for entries in the International Plastics Design Competition. The designs submitted reflect the reality of plastic’s ubiquity, spanning everything from boring but important (insulated railroad track joints) to sexy and high-profile (Herman Miller’s Embody chair), with dozens of shades in between. Medical devices, sporting goods, industrial equipment, consumer products and more are all represented.

Two of our faves:

The WaterBrick is a recyclable water container strong enough to be airdropped into emergency and relief zones, eliminating the need to truck it in. Once drained of its 3.4 gallons of agua, the interlocking containers can then be used to build durable structures, Lego-style.

The rotomolded QDesk (for grades K-8) was designed with ergonomics, comfort and durability in mind; the manufacturer stresses that students sit in their desks 180 days a year for more than 6 hours a day. Made from 100% recyclable PET, the object does away with the logging needed to produce its wooden antecedents, giving rise to the QDesk catchphrase: “A student sits, a tree stands.”

Have a look at the complete list of entries here.

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