2025 Galleries
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Galleries // 2025 Spark:Spring Student // Sport Can
Sport Can
Entrant
Competition: Spark:Spring Student
Designer: Yilin WANG
Design Type: Concept
Company / Organization / School: Beijing Institute of Technology
Team Members: Zihan GENG,Stephane GNONLONFOUN,Yiwen YUAN,Fangyu YI,Hanyin ZHENG,Bowen SUN
Sport Can addresses Africa’s dual challenges of plastic waste pollution and limited sports resources for youth. Designed as a low-tech trash can, it transforms discarded plastic into functional footballs through an accessible three-step process: compressing plastic into a core, applying adhesive, and adding a durable outer skin. Targeting children aged 5–16 in underserved communities, the product turns environmental liabilities into opportunities for play and learning. Its innovation lies in merging waste recycling with sports equity—unlike costly commercial balls or fragile homemade alternatives. Made from recycled materials and sheet metal, Sport Can ensures affordability while withstanding rugged use. Key benefits include: Reducing plastic pollution through hyper-local recycling Providing durable, low-cost footballs to promote physical health Teaching youth environmental stewardship and resourcefulness Supporting community-led sustainability initiatives Strategically developed for the African context, it leverages football culture and waste abundance. Schools, NGOs, and governments serve as primary distributors, enabling wide adoption. By combining Chinese pragmatism with African resilience, Sport Can embodies Sino-African cooperation in sustainable development—turning trash into tools for joy, education, and longevity.
