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Super Local has won the Dutch Design Award for best product of 2023 with a project that creates colourful souvenirs from trash that was carried out of the Himalayas by mountain trekkers.
The Dutch design studio created two types of products that could make it possible to recycle all of the trash in Nepal's Sagarmatha National Park in Nepal, which is home to Mount Everest.
The first is a bag that allows people walking the mountain trails to carry trash back with them. The second is a series of mementoes made out of waste bottle caps.
The Dutch Design Award judges, who included designer Chris Kabel and Stedelijk Museum curator Amanda Pinatih, described From the Himalayas as "a complete project".
"'What goes up must come down' is a law of nature that has not applied to waste in the Himalayas for a long time," the judges said. "Super Local came up with a solution that is as poetic as it is pragmatic."
The project was initiated by Nepalese non-profit Sagarmatha Next in response to concerns that an estimated 200 tonnes of waste is left behind in the mountain range each year.
The brief given to Super Local was to design "an end-to-end process" for safely removing and recycling this litter.
"The high altitude, lack of connectivity and limited recycling infrastructure make it challenging to remove waste," explained the studio, which is led by designers Pim van Baarsen and Luc van Hoeckel.
"This has resulted in more than 80 open pits where waste is burned, contaminating the soil, water and air, and threatening biodiversity."
With more than 80,000 people visiting the park every year, the designers saw an opportunity to crowdsource the process of carrying this waste down the mountain.
Hikers are encouraged to bring back at least one pack of waste, contained within a one-kilo Carry Me Back bag.
