Design agency Bentu Design created a stool made of recycled rubber shoe soles.

Annually, around 20 billion pairs of shoes are created around the world, of which 95 per cent end up on the landfill. Typically, shoes are made of synthetic materials, including nylon, EVA, and TPU. The outer soles of shoes are generally made of (synthetic) rubber with added carbon black and foamed rubber. This material does not biodegrade. Incinerating rubber waste produces more than 250 kg of smoke and over 400 kg of toxic gases per ton. Large amounts of highly flammable rubber waste in landfills pose significant environmental and health issues, serving as convenient habitats for rodents and insects and becoming sources of dangerous infectious diseases.

To counter this problem, Bentu Design uses recycled outsoles in their stool called WU. Each stool consists if 15 kilograms of recycled rubber pellets, which is equivalent to approximately 60 rubber shoe soles. The pellets are bound together with non-toxic adhesives. Thanks to the durable shoe material, the stools have good weather resistance and can be used outside.

As the soles are sorted by colour before recycling, the stools can be made with personalized colours and microtextures. Each stool is unique.

Photos: Bentu Design