Numbers
I created a survey about material perception to understand how people in design fields perceive Marble Plastics’ post-secondary recycled material. I focused on seniors in Interior Design and seniors in Architecture. I received 9 responses from 18 Interior Design students and 8 responses from 14 Architecture students. I collected
Business
For my business theme, I decided to explore how Marble Plastics could create a closed-loop system similar to TerraCycle around the secondary waste stream. I know that curly-haired people have specific needs when it comes to detangling and defining their hair, so when we find a tool that
Arts & Lifestyle
For this concept, I wanted to explore lighting as a more artistic application for Marble Plastics’ secondary waste material. I considered finding a way to make the material thin enough for light to shine through its lighter areas, or using the material to create a casing around a light source.
2026-27 Capstone
Trash never stops moving. It moves faster than I expected; conveyor belts carrying an endless stream of plastic, cardboard, and items I can’t fully define. Men in neon-colored Rumpke vests stand beside the belts, sorting through it as it rushes past them like ocean waves. From above, the
2026-27 Capstone
I've been interested in the cultural perception change of materials, specifically Plywood. Plywood is a material that is made by layering thin sheets of wood together, creating a material that is strong, lightweight, and easy to shape. In Fast Company’s article, “How Plywood Revolutionized Design and Changed
2026-27 Capstone
My research into how storytelling can change people’s feelings toward something, how repeated exposure can influence taste, and how materials like plywood have changed in perception over time made me think about how I could change the way people see Marble Plastics’ secondary waste material. Instead of only presenting
2026-27 Capstone
Forget white space, good taste, and luxury—in independent magazine publishing it’s the ugly, the untidy, and the cheap that rule right now. (Jamieson, 2016) A group of independent magazines intentionally moved away from the clean and polished style that was common in design. Instead, they used messy layouts,
2026-27 Capstone
We are in a global waste crisis, and overconsumption and throwaway culture played a part in this crisis. Even though most things are technically recyclable, most materials are not profitable enough to actually recycle. And so, virgin materials continue to be extracted from the earth instead of recycling the materials
2026-27 Capstone
The blind/mystery box economy has recently skyrocketed in popularity. Consumers only find out what is inside the box after they have paid for it and opened it, and many will spend hundreds of dollars trying to get the exact trinket they want. The concept of buying “blind boxes” to
2026-27 Capstone
Rumpke is a family-owned waste and recycling company based in Ohio. Founded in 1932, the company has grown from a small local waste collection business into one of the largest privately owned waste and recycling companies in the country. Today, Rumpke provides residential, commercial, and industrial waste collection, recycling,
2026-27 Capstone
The Alterra Energy recycling plant in Akron, Ohio interested me because there are only two chemical recycling plants in Ohio, and one of them is located in Summit County, where my family lives. Alterra uses a process called pyrolysis, which is a type of thermochemical liquefaction, Instead of mechanically melting
2026-27 Capstone
Green Toys is a company that I think is innovative because it creates toys for children using recycled plastic. The company primarily uses post-consumer milk jugs, which helps keep plastic waste out of landfills. The plastic is collected, cleaned, and shredded before being reprocessed into new material and combined