A zero-waste kitchen is every eco enthusiast’s dream. But, as many of us might know by now, leaving no waste behind when cooking is a daunting, if not seemingly impossible, task. In an effort to make things easier, designer Ivana Steiner has created a sustainable kitchen — made of recycled stainless steel and recycled glass — that works without producing waste.
Driven by the current climate crisis and the Fridays for Future movement, the designer sought to create a design that is not only sustainable but also visually appealing and bears a political message.
The new kitchen essentially introduces a concept that actively contributes to climate protection through a resource-saving lifestyle. The Zero Waste Kitchen has a long shelf life of 150 years. Every piece of steel can be recycled several times without deteriorating the material’s properties. Steel that was once a household appliance, or a bicycle, or even a beer, is given a new lease on life.
As reported by designboom, the Zero Waste Kitchen takes the form of a minimalist, large table around which users can gather to cook or eat together. The elegant structure is made of stainless steel with areas for glass containers, baskets for fruit and vegetables, a worm composter, storage space for multi-purpose, reusable glasses for daily products and staples, and a vertical herb garden that is nourished by the humus (organic component of soil) produced in the worm box.
What’s more, the kitchen boasts two sinks where water can be let in, so the dishes are first washed with water in the dishwashing liquid and then washed in the second sink with pure water. The process consumes a comparable amount of water as a dishwasher, but the electricity that is needed to heat the water is saved. There is also a water jug to collect the remaining water to irrigate the herb garden.
Since the kitchen is also designed to serve as a political tool for sustainability, the designer borrowed the Fridays for Future slogans — ‘There is no planet B’ or ‘Don’t melt our future’ — and stamped them on the refrigerator door and on textile bags. The kitchen’s elements are built up to 60x60cm and can be bought individually for people to ramp up the sustainability of their already existing kitchens.
Image source: Zero Waste Kitchen
