Norwegian brand turns marine waste into sea-inspired benches

Vestre has designed the Coast bench, a prototype made from plastic that has been collected from beaches and waterways

Spotted: In an effort to bring attention to the ongoing ocean plastic problem, the Norwegian sustainable furniture brand Vestre has designed a bench made from marine plastic waste.

Named the Coast bench, it is the product of a collaboration with environmental initiative Ogoori. The plastic used to make the bench was collected by volunteers from Norway’s beaches and waterways. The waste was then recycled and amalgamated to form seat panels in different shades of blue and set atop a sleek steel frame. In a nod to the material’s former life, Vestre designer Allan Hagerup designed the seat to be slightly convex, similar to the hull of a boat.

The simple form of the Coast bench was designed to draw focus to the overriding message — the problem of discarded marine plastics. By visually representing the closed-loop system through which the bench was created, and for it to be once again placed near the sea, it boasts high durability and its ability to withstand marine conditions. Moreover, the frame has been designed in a way that allows the slats to be easily replaced when needed. Due to the variable quality of the recycled plastics, they need to be regularly replaced as they wear down in the harsh environment.

The Coast bench currently exists only as a prototype, but Vestre is hoping to launch it as a limited edition later this year, once it has gone through a series of tests to assess the material’s toxicity and reaction to UV exposure.

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