CATALYST PLANET

View Original

E-WASTE TSUNAMI

E-WASTE TSUNAMI peers behind the virtual world conjured by our computers and mobile phones to the very real world of electronic trash.

The ecosystems of production and consumption create the ecosystem of the receiver. In the receiver ecosystem are the environment into which products and materials are disposed, and the urban poor who work in the informal labor sector, generally in unregulated conditions
and facilities. Increasing consumer affluence, population growth, and decreasing product prices exponentially accelerate the e-waste problem. This project documents what’s happening at the frontline in the world of the receiver in a developing economy.

The photographic documentary, and film, produced by StudioFYNN,  provide a glimpse into the lives of those who work with e-waste on a daily basis in Bhalswa and Mustafabad, Delhi, India. While alternatives to toxic labor practices exist, only a handful of socially conscious and technologically equipped facilities are committed tobest practices with e-waste end-of-lifecycle. Given this highly complex problem, in what generative ways can diverse fields (such as industrialdesign, psychology, or urban policy) begin to model a more sustainable future?

PHOTOGRAPHS BY SHAUN FYNN

Want to see more? Check out STUDIOFYNN's Delhi Journey, an accompanying film for the E-Waste Tsunami project. 

SHAUN FYNN

@studiofynn 

Shaun Fynn is an acclaimed designer with over 20 years experience in advising and creating for Fortune 500 companies. Since founding STUDIOFYNN in 1997, he has developed the practice globally, working in areas of design research, photo documentary and design education. E-Waste Tsunami — a project that peers behind our virtual worlds to capture the real world of electronic trash — was on exhibition in The Sheila C. Johnson Design Center's Arnold and Sheila Aronson Galleries in New York City at the beginning of 2016.