Projects

In our studios, we have crushed ceramic waste and glass, sieved it, calculated, mixed, and fired it. However, if future ceramic practice is to be based on waste as a resource, the effort must move from the individual small studio to a larger scale.

Therefore, we have established a collaboration with the local landfill, BOFA – Bornholm’s municipal waste management unit – to develop a model for reuse grounded in a local circular economy.

Each year, 380 tons of ceramic waste are disposed of on the small island in the middle of the Baltic Sea with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. A very large portion of this waste consists of sanitary ware — washbasins and toilets. We have chosen to focus on this part of the waste stream.

But what is a toilet made of? Does the material contain harmful chemicals? How can it be tested? How can it be crushed into grain sizes that can be worked with? Can a municipal company package and distribute it? And who is permitted to come and collect it?

The collaboration has reached a phase where the next step is the development of a business model in which all necessary equipment is acquired, allowing the project to be realized and to contribute to BOFA’s vision of making Bornholm a waste-free island.

The collaboration is part of the EU Horizon project Hephaestus, which aims to investigate, preserve, and renew crafts through sustainable business models. Hephaestus has contributed to the dissemination of the exhibition and will continue to support the further development of the project.

It is our hope that the Ødeland project will, in the long term, contribute to sustainable development and that this initiative can lift a resource problem from the individual ceramicist and ensure access to thoroughly tested raw materials produced from waste.

If you need help developing ceramic materials (clay and glazes) that contain high-fired waste or the like, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

CSC Keramik has great and extensive knowledge of how high-fired wastes (from earthenware, bricks, to high-fired porcelain and sanitary waste, such as toilets and sinks) can be transformed and reused in new clay and glaze formulations. This also covers glass waste and waste from local quarries on the island of Bornholm. This could be a way to become more sustainable in ceramic production – or within the field of building materials that architects and the built environment might need. A great way to create a circular built environment by including high-fired waste that is sent to landfill.

As a case, CSC Keramik has transformed broken terracotta flowerpots from a Danish company selling high-end flower pots into a casting slip that contains 60% of the broken shards from the terracotta flowerpots.

Within the Ødeland-project, you can also see the variety of high-end expressions that these waste products can be transformed into.

Feel free to get in touch if you need more information on this subject. Or if you need inspiration on how you can make your own studio practice, large-scale production, or architectural material choices circular, sustainable, and waste-based.

The expertise in developing new expressions and working with experimental methods within the field of glaze development is a core skill that Experimental Glazes can offer.

We are doing online courses, physical in-studio courses, and offer mentoring and guidance 1:1. When and where will be announced on the Instagram profile of @experimental.glazes. Courses are offered when time and space allows it. Christina Schou Christensen is also an associate professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Crafts and has years of experience with the experimental approach that she has developed.

The approach is very engaging. You learn by doing, and heavy math and chemistry are not on the initial programme, so don’t be afraid of being put off by too much information or calculation. Her experience with this method shows that it works. It gives motivation and drive towards making your own experiments – and the side effect of this method is that you actually learn how the raw materials interact with each other in the real way. Christina’s mantra is letting the materials and kilns show the way – instead of chasing a vision in your mind. Feel free to get in contact to hear about opportunities for guidance and mentoring.

Through the work with using high-fired trash and waste from a local quarry in new clay bodies and glazes, Experimental Glazes is also offering crushed materials and ready-mixed glazes for purchase.

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