‘Rethinking Trash’ by Arthur Huang

Format:

Rethinking Trash

Public Talk by Arthur Huang

45 mins presentation + Q&A

Talk summary:

Did you know that out of the 8 million tonnes of plastic that end up in the oceans and 82% comes from Asia?

It is time to rethink our impact on the planet and our ways of living, consuming and producing.

Our carbon footprint starts from birth, and has been increasing ever since. The question now is how do we reduce it? Today's linear ‘take, make, dispose’ model that relies on large quantities of cheap, easily accessible materials and energy, is reaching its physical limits. This is not just a business loss, but one of the biggest environmental challenges of our time.

This exclusive session features Arthur Huang - architect, engineer and National Geographic Emerging Explorer. He will share some of his achievements in finding innovative technical solutions to turn any type of waste into high performance materials.

Find out what is our actual carbon footprint and how can we reduce our impact on the environment.

About Arthur Huang:

Engineer, architect and 2016 National Geographic Emerging Explorer Arthur Huang, is also founder of ‘closed loop’ firm Miniwiz that turns post consumer trash such as discarded plastics, apparel, and even cigarette butts into “high-performance materials” to build everything from sailboats to skyscrapers and consumer goods products. Under Arthur Huang’s leadership, Miniwiz is today a global leader in post-consumer recycling technology through its innovative architectural projects throughout Asia and the rest of the world, such as a project to turn Taipei’s food waste into BioEthanol.

His achievements through Miniwiz include being named Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum (2015), creating the Nike Aerostatic Dome in Milan (2014) and IDEA GOLD Award, Chicago, USA (2013), Financial Times’ Earth Award (2010) and The Wall Street Journal’s Asian Innovation Award (2011).

Arthur graduated from Harvard University with a Master’s in architecture, and from Cornell University with a degree in the same field.