Rise of the Plastic Artisans: Sodium Films

An Art in Manufacturing commissioned project, Sodium Films documented the people and processes behind recycled plastic manufacturing, drawing on the innovation at play at Precious Plastic Lancaster.

Mass plastic product production of the 20th Century missed a step in the life-cycle of most material manufacturing – that of the master craftsman and the intensive hand-working of high-quality, individually-made products. 

A rapidly advancing, global ‘craft’ movement in plastic, known as ‘Precious Plastic’, was founded to restore the balance and value in the ubiquitous material, whilst demystifying and democratising the chain from waste material to desirable product.

Through the storytelling expertise of Sodium Films, imagery and interviews reveal the rise of Lancashire’s very own Plastic Artisans, Precious Plastic Lancaster (now Relic Plastic).

The video portrait sheds light on the hand and machine processes used to make high-quality, locally-made products from recycled plastics.

Sodium’s profile of the organisation demonstrates the value in a material we previously thought of as cheap, single-use and disposable.

About Sodium Films

Sodium is a team of filmmakers, combining ideas, strategy and end-to-end production with one team, under one roof. They create extraordinary content and infectious campaigns for digital screens, social channels and live experiences.

They are a nimble and diverse family of thinkers and doers built on an obsessive desire to make everything the best it can be. In terms of content, Sodium are expert storytellers and travel worldwide to satisfy their thirst for working on projects they believe in.

Website

About Precious Plastic Lancaster (Now Relic Plastic)

Relic Plastic (formerly Precious Plastic Lancaster) is part of a global community of plastic recycling operations – a combination of people, machines and knowledge which create an alternative global recycling system.

Empowered by open-source machinery designs and blueprints for everything from recycling collection points and designs for production workshops, all inspired by the initiative’s instigator, Precious Plastic in Eindhoven, Holland, individuals and groups have been able to set up shop as low-volume, specialist plastic recyclers or educational community projects.

Website

Plastic is fantastic, it’s this amazing material. We use it everywhere for a reason, but unfortunately, we use it in a lot of wrong ways and short-lived ways. It’s something that lasts forever, it’s got particular characteristics, so we believe we should make products that adhere to those characteristics, make something that is going to last a long time, purposefully.

Martin Paley, Precious Plastic Lancaster

With the increase in the number of UK teams appearing on the Precious Plastic map, we can see that things are moving at a renewed pace to affect change and take advantage of the huge plastic problem we have.

Nathan Burley, Precious Plastic Lancaster

Film by Sodium Films