Creating a ‘recycling unit’ from ‘recycled waste’

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One NZ's retail stores aim to revolutionise the customer experience, embracing technology and modern design tools to enhance face-to-face interactions and product outcomes for their customers. — One NZ’s retail stores aim to revolutionise the customer experience, embracing technology and modern design tools to enhance face-to-face interactions and product outcomes for their customers. Image: Jono Parker

Warren and Mahoney has teamed up with One NZ and Special Studio to design and deliver a bespoke product nationwide that responds to the urgent need for effective e-waste management solutions.

Vodafone’s recent rebrand to One NZ provided the organisation with an opportunity to tailor its customer service experiences throughout the country and Warren and Mahoney (W+M) was tasked with delivering a nationwide retail concept to ‘revolutionise’ the retail experience of the network.

Two distinct zones create areas for social interactions, or quiet time, and high-tech product display and information sharing. Image: Jono Parker

“Part of our brief with One NZ was to consider sustainability, holistically, across all aspects of the design,” says W+M’s project principal Gareth Huston.

The team at W+M identified an opportunity to introduce e-waste recycling bins to One NZ’s retail stores and collaborated with Tauranga-based Special Studio to come up with a design where recycled-plastic materiality and a cybernated, futuristic aesthetic demonstrated the possibilities of a circular economy.

The undulating surface of the bins create interest while the transparency reveals the to-be-recycled e-waste inside. Image: Special Studio

“This particular initiative packs a big punch with the creation and deployment of 70 specialised e-waste recycling bins across New Zealand to collect old phones, modems, routers and personal electronic devices in an effort to promote responsible e-waste disposal and recycling,” says Huston.

Designed in partnership with Special Studio, the custom-made 3D-printed bins are crafted from recycled materials, showcasing the potential of innovation and technology. “It’s just one example of One NZ’s commitment to sustainability and the use of recycled and circular elements in their fitout.”

Special Studio is the brainchild of Matt Watkins, a self-taught product designer, whose products utilise 3D printing as a way to repurpose waste plastics into long-lasting, beautiful and valuable objects. Special Studio’s product range is made from 98% recycled plastic, a principle that aligned with One NZ’s sustainbility goals and Warren and Mahoney’s vision for the brand.

“Our partnership with Warren and Mahoney has been an enriching journey marked by shared creativity and innovation,” says Watkins. “Their support has been invaluable as we continue to champion circular fitout and production solutions. It’s these types of commitments from One NZ that will shift us all toward a more sustainable future.”