Old billboards repurposed into unique placemats

Billboards may offer a striking way to advertise your brand, but they also come at a financial and environmental cost. They are replaced as often as once every month, with each one generating up to one hundred pounds of plastic to be disposed of in landfills. Not only does this have a negative impact on the environment, it is also costly for the companies managing the disposal process. Hoping to offer an alternative, US-based ReMakes are transforming these advertising artworks into unique dining placemats. Born out of a collaboration between ViaMaris Partners and Israeli designer Nomi Gerstein, the PVC mats come in two different design styles: either in plain black, or still sporting the design of the original billboard. In the case of the latter style, all four mats in the set are cut from the same billboard in order to offer aesthetic consistency. At the same time, however, no two mats will ever look the same. The mats also feature a QR code which, when scanned with a smartphone, will link to a website containing information on the ReMakes production process, as well as supplying a daily ecology-related fact or news item. The mats — still seeking funding through Start Some Good — are currently available in the US from Abe’s Market and in Canada from Four Green Steps. Copyright issues aside, we would have loved to have seen the QR codes linking to details of the billboard from which they were cut — adding a real product story in the manner of Tees at Risk. However, by reducing the disposal costs for companies, ensuring the PVC doesn’t end up in environmentally harmful landfills, and creating a uniquely stylish placemat set in the process, ReMakes certainly has strong eco-superior credentials. One to be inspired by! (Related: Keeping surfboards out of landfills with recycling and reuse — Buying & selling used and surplus cardboard boxes.) Spotted by: Ben Wiener