Project Zero

From used battery to a place of comfort

The concept of “useless” can be viewed differently depending on one’s philosophical perspective. From a pragmatist perspective, something is only considered “useless” if it fails to serve a practical purpose or provide utility. However, I firmly believe that every object has its own use and purpose. Even a tiny, insignificant, or inconspicuous object can hold a meaningful message if we give it proper consideration. 

Existentialist philosophers Jean-Paul Sartre believe that the concept of “useless” is subjective and can be challenged by the individual’s freedom to give meaning to their own existence. Sartre argues that human beings are responsible for creating their own meaning and purpose in life and that the idea of something being “useless” is a product of societal norms and conventions.

He also believed that individuals could transcend the constraints of society by embracing their freedom and taking responsibility for their actions. Sartre’s ideas about the subjectivity of “useless” and the ability of individuals to create their own meaning and purpose in life. He introduces the concept of “nothingness”, which refers to the idea that human consciousness is defined by its ability to negate or transcend its current condition. 

I believe that giving meaning to an object deemed “useless” is not simply recreating it in a new form but assigning it a social role to transform its value. In the Material Objects in Social Worlds by Rom Harré, the article argues that the symbolic, especially discursive, action is more important than the material order in creating social things. It suggests that what turns a piece of stuff into a social object is its embedment in a narrative construction and the attribution of an active or passive role to things in relation to people is story relative. 

Objects acquire their full significance when considering their double role in the practical and expressive order. He also emphasizes the micro-sociological constructionist perspective, arguing that there is nothing else to social life but symbolic exchanges and joint management of meaning, including the meaning of things and the illusion that something is real, which is an effect of specific interpretational grammars that remain stable across generations or centuries.

Also, “Objects as Social Actors” by Susanne K. Langer was published in the journal Symbolic Interaction in 2014. This article argues that objects are active participants in social interactions and can evoke specific reactions in people based on their physical characteristics, cultural meanings, and social context.

I think that objects can evoke certain reactions in people, which are influenced by social and cultural factors. John J. Bargh and Tanya L. Chartrand were published in Social Cognition in 1999. This article reviews research on the social psychology of objects and how they shape our perceptions, thoughts, and behaviours. The authors argue that objects can have a powerful influence on our emotions, attitudes, and actions and that this influence is often unconscious.

Therefore, I decided to make a campaign for building a shelter for the homeless with recycled AA batteries. This is the way to give life back to discarded objects and help people who have lost dignity because society considers them useless and ignores their existence. Furthermore, we expect the public’s participation in the recycling campaign process. Eventually, we could reduce the negative impacts on the environment and human health of batteries and pay attention to the homeless. 

“Recycling batteries. Helping the homeless. Saving Earth.”

According to a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), in 2018, around 3 billion batteries were discarded in the US alone each year, and the number is likely to be much higher globally.

Batteries can have negative impacts on the environment and human health if not disposed of properly. It is important to recycle batteries properly and reduce their usage. 

Furthermore, the number of usages never drop; according to a report from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in 2019, UK citizens discarded around 700,000 tonnes of batteries, which means around 58,333 tonnes of batteries are discarded per month.

We do not need to mention the importance of recycling. Recycling will help protect the environment and human health and conserve resources by recovering valuable metals like lead, nickel, and lithium, which can be used to make new batteries and other products.

The number of batteries can be utilised differently. Personally, I feel that homeless people are regarded as ‘used’, ‘useless’ people in our society. I hope that we have as much interest in helping these people as we do in recycling batteries.

There are some ways to charge a standard battery using relatively simple devices, so we can make a panel comprised of recycled batteries in the recharging devices. These recycled batteries, combined with a charger frame, can be a good structure for building a shelter. It is sturdy enough to hold the structure, provides good insulation and is a self-generating construction with solar panels, a recharging system, and recycled batteries.

This battery panel is a recharging system that can recharge standard AA batteries. Many people think that we can only recharge batteries specifically designed to be recharged; however, there are some devices that can recharge standard batteries. Modifying the recharger into a frame, we can create panels or blocks that can be used to build shelters or constructions and simple forms of modules that can create

If we simply recycle batteries, we can use approximately 90 percent of the raw material with the cost of the factory processes and other extra costs, while this panel can be reused with maintenance once it is produced.

 However, instead of making new batteries, we could build more meaningful structures for people who were once discarded from our societies, such as communities and even families. This shelter might not be able to solve all their problems, but at least it provides a private place for them. This place could be a place to transform their lives.

This structure can be a humble shelter for people who need a place and stand somewhere as a public installation which can serve as a social statement encouraging engagement and participation from the public. This campaign encourages people to participate in recycling batteries as well as to pay attention to resocializing the homeless.

References:

Air Pollution in the UK report 2021, Department for Environment Food &Rural Affairs, UK https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/library/annualreport/index

Bargh, J.J., & Chartrand, T.L. (1999). The social psychology of objects. Social Cognition, 17(3), 363-382.

Harré, R. (2002). Material Objects in Social Worlds. Theory, Culture & Society, 19(5–6), 23–33. https://doi.org/10.1177/026327640201900502

IEA (2018), World Energy Outlook 2018, IEA, Paris https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy- outlook-2018, License: CC BY 4.0

Sartre, J.-P. (2010) Being and nothingness: An essay of phenomenological ontology. London: Routledge.