Trash and Treasure垃圾與財(cái)富

奧利弗·溫賴特 劉晶晶

Its now a hundred times more lucrative to mine gold from e-dumps than from the ground. A new show reflects on how we can reverse throwaway culture。如今，從電子垃圾堆中提取黃金的利潤(rùn)是從地下開采黃金的一百倍。一場(chǎng)展覽就如何擯棄一次性文化展開思考。

How will this age be remembered？ After the stone age， the bronze age， the steam age and the information age， what material or innovation will most define the current era？ According to a new exhibition at Londons Design Museum， the most ubiquitous hallmark of the Anthropocene1 is not a gamechanging material， nor the mastery of technology. Its trash.

“We are arguably living in the waste age，” says Justin McGuirk， the museums chief curator， who has spent three years rifling through rubbish with co-curator Gemma Curtin to put together this timely show. “The production of waste is absolutely central to our way of life， a fundamental part of how the global economy operates. We wanted to show how design is deeply complicit2 in the waste problem—and also best placed to address it.”

Waste Age， which opened on the eve of the Cop26 climate summit， is a wake-up call， not so much to consumers， but to the manufacturers， retailers and， most crucially， government regulators. It is not intended to be a rebuke for buying that take away coffee on your way to the museum， or forgetting your cotton tote bag， but an eye-opening look at the sheer scale of the issue， and the people working on ingenious solutions.

The exhibition begins with a useful reminder that we didnt get here by accident. Humans are not inherently wasteful creatures. Throwaway culture was something we had to learn—indeed， it was a lifestyle choice， marketed from the mid 20th century onwards as a decadent release， following the austerity of wartime. It was the intentional opposite of “make do and mend3”. One advert from the 1960s extols the wonders of the new-fangled4 polystyrene cup： “New and very in！ The party ‘glass you just enjoy … and throw away.” It hangs next to a plastic carrier bag from the 1980s， printed with descriptions of its many advantages over paper. Little did we know that， four decades later， the world would be consuming more than a million plastic bags a minute.

Generating waste， the curators argue， has long been a primary engine of the economy. The history of the lightbulb is an illuminating case in point. In the 1920s， bulbs were so long-lasting that they were deemed commercially unviable5. General Electric， Philips and others formed the Phoebus cartel in 1924 to standardise the life expectancy of lightbulbs at 1，000 hours—down from the previous 2，500 hours. And so the culture of planned obsolescence6 was born. Almost a century later， similar practices continue： last year Apple agreed to pay up to $500m， after it was accused of deliberately slowing down older phone models to encourage consumers to buy the latest handsets.

A striking installation by Ibrahim Mahama brings home the reality of where such defunct electronics end up. He has erected a giant wall of old TV monitors that play clips from Agbogbloshie in Ghana， for many years the worlds largest e-waste dump， where informal workers burn electrical cables to harvest the copper wire and other precious metals. Mahama has commissioned them to cast the salvaged7 metal in the form of TV screen surrounds8， which frame footage9 showing this toxic process. The scenes are desperate， but the message is clear： waste is precious.

About 7% of gold supplies are trapped inside existing electronic devices， meaning that， according to some estimates， by 2080 the largest metal reserves will not be underground but circulating inside products. Whats more， one tonne of extracted gold ore yields 3g of gold， whereas recycling one tonne of mobile phones yields 300g. So waste dumps and landfill sites are the new resource-rich mines.

“In many ways ‘waste is a category error，” says McGuirk. “Its often perfectly good material thats simply undervalued.” The exhibition includes designers who are already working on what a future of “above-ground mining” might look like， exploring how objects and buildings can be dismantled and their parts reused. There is the work of the pioneering Belgian group Rotor， a team of architects who set up a demolition company to carefully remove materials and components from buildings slated for10 the wrecking ball.

Their Brussels warehouse brims with11 everything from marble slabs to vintage lamps， the spoils of what they call “forestry in the city”. It is shown alongside the refurbishment12 projects of French architects Lacaton & Vassal， for whom demolition is “a waste of energy， a waste of material， a waste of history [and] an act of violence”. At a time when global construction waste is set to double to 2.2bn tonnes a year by 2025， their joint calls to reuse what we already have couldnt be more urgent.

In the consumer goods sphere， the reuse cause is championed by the likes of iFixit， an online global repair platform that publishes free repair guides and sells spare parts and tools， such as a screwdriver to disassemble the iPhone. iFixit has been lobbying governments for repairability legislation since 2003， with some success.

France is the first country in Europe to implement a Repairability Index， adopted in January， which requires manufacturers to provide clear information on the repairability of smartphones， laptops， washing machines， televisions and lawnmowers， and award their products scores out of 10. The iPhone 11 may include some recycled rare-earth elements， but it got a repairability score of 4.5 out of 10.

The final section of the exhibition moves beyond fixing and recycling to imagine a “post-waste” world， where materials are grown rather than extracted. Design exhibition regulars might be familiar with the wonders of hempcrete13 or mycelium14 insulation， but this show includes a dazzling range of innovations， from water soluble electronic circuit boards made of natural fibres， to “sea stone”， a concrete-like mater-ial made from crushed seashells. Also featured are Sonys packaging made from bamboo and sugarcane （embossed rather than printed， to save ink waste）， Notpla15s seaweed-based sachets for liquids and condiments， a polystyrene substitute made from sunflowers， and a new kind of leather made from coconut water—alongside things made from algae16， cornhusks and organic pulps17 of all kinds.

Such biodegradable solutions come with their own pitfalls： how many times have you thrown a plastic container in the recycling bin， before realising it was actually compostable Vegware18？ And should it go in the compost bin or landfill？ Behaviour and expectations will have to adjust to meet the brave new bio-future.

McGuirk writes in the exhibition catalogue： “After nearly a century of appreciating the hard-smooth-shiny perfection of plastics， we may begin to embrace irregularity， imperfection， decay and decomposition.”

Your future organo-laptop might not over-heat， slow down， or need its battery constantly replaced. But it might start to go mouldy19 instead.

后人將怎樣銘記這個(gè)時(shí)代？繼石器時(shí)代、青銅時(shí)代、蒸汽時(shí)代和信息時(shí)代之后，哪種材料或創(chuàng)新最能定義當(dāng)今時(shí)代？倫敦設(shè)計(jì)博物館舉辦的一場(chǎng)新展覽告訴我們，人類世最俯拾皆是的標(biāo)志既不是某種變革性的材料，也不是對(duì)技術(shù)的精通，而是垃圾。

“可以說(shuō)我們生活在‘垃圾時(shí)代，垃圾的產(chǎn)生是全球經(jīng)濟(jì)運(yùn)行的基本環(huán)節(jié)，在人類現(xiàn)有生活方式里絕對(duì)至關(guān)重要。我們的初衷是想展現(xiàn)：對(duì)于垃圾問(wèn)題，設(shè)計(jì)著實(shí)難辭其咎，卻也是解決此問(wèn)題的最佳途徑。” 博物館首席策展人賈斯廷·麥吉爾克說(shuō)道。他與聯(lián)合策展人杰瑪·柯廷歷時(shí)三年搜尋垃圾，才策劃出這場(chǎng)正合時(shí)宜的展覽。

開展于第26屆聯(lián)合國(guó)氣候變化大會(huì)前夕的 “垃圾時(shí)代”主題展是一記警鐘，要警示的對(duì)象與其說(shuō)是消費(fèi)者，不如說(shuō)是制造商、零售商和最需要警覺起來(lái)的政府監(jiān)管機(jī)構(gòu)。此展覽的目的不在于譴責(zé)你來(lái)館路上買份外帶咖啡或者出門忘記帶棉布手提袋的行為，而在于以開闊的視野關(guān)注垃圾問(wèn)題的龐大規(guī)模以及研發(fā)巧妙對(duì)策的人們。

展覽開場(chǎng)便提醒我們：發(fā)展到今天的局面并非偶然。浪費(fèi)并不是人類的天性。一次性文化是我們必須學(xué)習(xí)的東西——實(shí)際上，這是一種個(gè)人選擇的生活方式。這種文化作為戰(zhàn)時(shí)節(jié)儉風(fēng)氣過(guò)后的頹廢式發(fā)泄，從20世紀(jì)中期一直被推廣至今。它故意與“縫縫補(bǔ)補(bǔ)又三年”的觀念背道而馳。展廳掛有一則來(lái)自20世紀(jì)60年代的廣告，頌揚(yáng)了當(dāng)時(shí)的新發(fā)明聚苯乙烯水杯之神奇：“又新又潮！聚會(huì)開懷暢飲……用畢一扔就好?！?旁邊的展品是一個(gè)來(lái)自上世紀(jì)80年代的塑料袋，上面印著塑料袋相比紙袋子的種種優(yōu)勢(shì)。那時(shí)的人們還不知道，40年后，全世界每分鐘都會(huì)消耗超過(guò)100萬(wàn)個(gè)塑料袋。

策展人還表示，制造垃圾早已成為經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展的一個(gè)重要引擎。電燈泡的歷史就是鮮明的例證。20世紀(jì)20年代，電燈泡經(jīng)久耐用，人們一度認(rèn)定生產(chǎn)電燈泡無(wú)法盈利。1924年，通用電氣、飛利浦等公司成立了太陽(yáng)神壟斷聯(lián)盟，目的是統(tǒng)一燈泡的壽命，由原來(lái)的2500小時(shí)調(diào)低至1000小時(shí)。至此，“計(jì)劃報(bào)廢”興起了。近一個(gè)世紀(jì)后，類似做法還在繼續(xù)：2020年蘋果公司被指控故意降低老款手機(jī)的運(yùn)行速度，以此鼓勵(lì)用戶購(gòu)買新機(jī)，最終該公司同意拿出高達(dá)五億美元進(jìn)行賠付。

藝術(shù)家易卜拉欣·馬哈馬的作品十分惹眼，這個(gè)裝置揭示了此類報(bào)廢電子產(chǎn)品的最終歸宿。他搭建了一面由舊電視機(jī)顯示器組成的巨墻，上面播放著加納阿博布羅西鎮(zhèn)的畫面。多年來(lái)此地一直是世界上最大的電子垃圾傾倒地，非正式工人在那里焚燒電纜，從中獲取銅和其他珍貴金屬。馬哈馬委托他們把回收來(lái)的金屬澆鑄成電視屏幕邊框的形狀，這些邊框框住的顯示屏里播放著有毒物質(zhì)產(chǎn)生的過(guò)程。畫面觸目驚心，但傳達(dá)的信息很明確：垃圾也是寶。

約7%的黃金供應(yīng)都用于制作電子產(chǎn)品。據(jù)預(yù)測(cè)，這意味著到了2080年，最大的金屬儲(chǔ)備不在地下，而將在各種產(chǎn)品之間流通。不僅如此，一噸金礦能提煉出3克黃金，而一噸報(bào)廢手機(jī)卻能提煉出300克黃金。因此，垃圾堆和填埋場(chǎng)就是新的富礦。

“從很多方面來(lái)講，‘垃圾是一個(gè)分類錯(cuò)誤?！?麥吉爾克說(shuō)，“垃圾通常都是絕佳的材料，只不過(guò)被低估了?！闭褂[邀請(qǐng)的設(shè)計(jì)師中有些已經(jīng)對(duì)未來(lái)的“地上采礦”進(jìn)行了構(gòu)想，研究如何拆卸物品和建筑以及重新利用那些零部件。展品中就有來(lái)自比利時(shí)先鋒公司Rotor的作品，這是一家多位建筑師共同創(chuàng)立的拆遷公司，致力于從本該由破碎錘進(jìn)行拆遷作業(yè)的建筑物里精心揀出建材和零部件。

他們位于布魯塞爾的倉(cāng)庫(kù)里放滿了五花八門的東西，從大理石板到古董臺(tái)燈，都是從他們所謂的 “城市叢林”里搜羅而來(lái)的戰(zhàn)利品。旁邊的展品來(lái)自法國(guó)建筑事務(wù)所Lacaton & Vassal，是一些翻新項(xiàng)目。該團(tuán)隊(duì)認(rèn)為，拆遷是“一種能源浪費(fèi)、材料浪費(fèi)、歷史資源浪費(fèi)，也是一種暴力行徑”。據(jù)預(yù)測(cè)，2025年全球建筑垃圾總量將比2021年翻一番，達(dá)到22億噸。在這樣的關(guān)頭，他們共同發(fā)出的“重復(fù)利用”的倡議，急需人們的響應(yīng)。

在消費(fèi)品領(lǐng)域，諸如iFixit這樣的平臺(tái)倡導(dǎo)重復(fù)利用。這是一家全球在線修理平臺(tái)，發(fā)布免費(fèi)的修理指南，還售賣備用零件和工具，如能拆卸蘋果手機(jī)的螺絲刀。iFixit自2003年起游說(shuō)各國(guó)政府制定有關(guān)“可修復(fù)性”的法律法規(guī)，至今已取得一些成果。

法國(guó)是歐洲第一個(gè)施行“可修復(fù)性指數(shù)”的國(guó)家，相關(guān)法案2021年1月生效，要求智能手機(jī)、筆記本電腦、洗衣機(jī)、電視和割草機(jī)制造商提供產(chǎn)品可修復(fù)性的明確信息，然后會(huì)按十分制給這些產(chǎn)品打分。雖然iPhone11手機(jī)內(nèi)含有一些回收利用的稀土元素，但其可修復(fù)性得分僅為4.5（滿分10分）。

展覽的最后一個(gè)單元不再是關(guān)于修補(bǔ)和回收，而是更進(jìn)一步地構(gòu)想出一個(gè)“后垃圾”世界，那里的人們種植而不是提煉材料。設(shè)計(jì)展的?？涂赡軐?duì) “漢麻混凝土”或“菌絲體隔熱材料”這類神奇事物很熟悉了，但此展還囊括了令人眼花繚亂的各式創(chuàng)新產(chǎn)物，從天然纖維制成的水溶性電子線路板到“海石”，即碎海貝殼做的類似混凝土的材料。值得一看的還有索尼公司開發(fā)的包裝材料，由竹子和甘蔗制成（包裝文字采用壓花工藝以減少油墨浪費(fèi)）;倫敦的可持續(xù)包裝公司Notpla開發(fā)的飲料和調(diào)味料小包裝袋，原材料為海藻;向日葵制成的聚苯乙烯替代材料;一種新型皮革，原材料是椰汁;參展的還有原料為藻類、玉米皮以及各種有機(jī)漿糊的各式產(chǎn)品。

這類可生物降解的方案也存在缺陷，比如：有多少次你把一個(gè)塑料容器扔進(jìn)可回收垃圾箱，卻不知道它其實(shí)是可堆肥的Vegware產(chǎn)品？那么它是不是該進(jìn)堆肥箱或者垃圾填埋場(chǎng)呢？為了迎接美麗的新生物世界，我們要調(diào)整自己的行為和期許。

麥吉爾克在展覽目錄中寫道：“近一個(gè)世紀(jì)以來(lái)，質(zhì)地堅(jiān)硬、表面光滑、色澤光亮的塑料堪稱完美，令人喜愛。現(xiàn)在，我們可以開始接受不規(guī)則、有瑕疵、腐爛和分解了。”

未來(lái)你的“有機(jī)筆記本電腦”也許不會(huì)溫度過(guò)高，速度不會(huì)變慢，也不需要頻繁更換電池。但可能會(huì)發(fā)霉。

（譯者單位：揚(yáng)州大學(xué)）

1人類世，是指地球的最近代歷史，可能由18世紀(jì)末人類活動(dòng)對(duì)氣候及生態(tài)系統(tǒng)造成全球性影響開始。

2 complicit有同謀關(guān)系的，串通的。? 3 make do and mend原為英國(guó)二戰(zhàn)期間興起的一場(chǎng)節(jié)儉運(yùn)動(dòng)，號(hào)召民眾對(duì)已購(gòu)置的物品進(jìn)行修補(bǔ)翻新，而不是重新購(gòu)買，現(xiàn)作為英語(yǔ)習(xí)語(yǔ)意為“修修補(bǔ)補(bǔ)將就使用”。這里使用歸化的手段，套用一句漢語(yǔ)俗語(yǔ)以便于讀者理解。4 new-fangled（新想法或新設(shè)備）時(shí)髦復(fù)雜的。

5 unviable（尤指經(jīng)濟(jì)上）不能成功的，行不通的。? 6 planned obsolescence計(jì)劃報(bào)廢（為增加銷量故意制造不耐用商品）。? 7 salvage挽救;挽回。

8 surround圍繞物;緣飾。? 9 footage電影片段;鏡頭。? 10 be slated for被規(guī)劃為。? 11 brim with充滿;充溢。

12 refurbishment翻新;整修。

13 hempcrete漢麻混凝土，由大麻和石灰等混合而成。? 14 mycelium菌絲;菌絲體。? 15此公司致力于開發(fā)可代替塑料的環(huán)保材料。Notpla一詞來(lái)源于Not Plastic，意為“不是塑料”。? 16 algae藻類。? 17 pulp漿;糊。

18一家總部位于蘇格蘭的包裝公司，其產(chǎn)品由可再生的植物材料制成，可與食物垃圾一起進(jìn)行商業(yè)堆肥。? 19 mouldy發(fā)霉的;生霉的。