Tucked between Biltmore Hall and Jordan Hall sits one of the most sustainable structures on campus. From the infrastructure to the furniture, the Floating Grove has layers of sustainable design—and one of those layers is made from material recycled from NC State’s campus. In this installment of CaSA’s Green Unseen series, we’re diving into what that construction looks like and how university waste was used to create a gathering space for future generations.

When you take a seat in the Floating Grove or gather around the picnic table, you’re sitting on expanded polystyrene (EPS), or what you might call Styrofoam. The table and stool tops in the Floating Grove are constructed with a durable, sustainable concrete made from EPS. This material, created by Trashy, extends the usefulness of campus waste in a creative and practical way.

Founded by NC State graduate Laura Olson, Trashy is where entrepreneurship meets environmentalism.

A Full Circle Project

Adding Trashy’s furniture to the Floating Grove was a collaborative initiative involving the College of Natural Resources, the Sustainability Stewards, the NC State Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling (WRR), Campus Planning and Strategic Investment, and the University Sustainability Office.

The Floating Grove furniture project was led by Rico Ruffino in the College of Natural Resources (CNR). Ruffino’s team and the Trashy team worked closely together to envision and create the furniture. The bases for the furniture were designed by Trashy and were constructed with the cross-laminated timber (CLT) that remained after constructing the pavilion itself. Designing the furniture bottoms to use the remaining material was an iterative and collaborative process, with adjustments made to ensure that there would be enough CLT. Graduate students from Ruffino’s lab worked with undergraduate Sustainability Stewards to help build the bases for the Trashy furniture tops.

The materials for the tops were collected during student move-in when WRR places temporary receptacles around campus to make it easy for students to dispose of expanded polystyrene, like Styrofoam. WRR then worked directly with a recycling partner to isolate the move-in materials and preserve them for Trashy’s use.

For Olson, working with NC State on this campus-based project felt like coming home. “It felt like it was bringing everything full circle,” she said. Olson’s work on sustainable furniture design started at NC State, so contributing to a project here brought the company back to its roots.

That full-circle feeling only increased when it was suggested that WRR contribute the waste material from student move-in. “We were excited about the opportunity to utilize expanded polystyrene in a way that gives it new life as functional furniture,” said Matt Ball, WRR Program Specialist. Whenever possible, NC State WRR prioritizes reusing materials over recycling them, and Trashy’s furniture tops were a unique opportunity to make that happen.

“[The furniture] also has the potential to serve as a viable showpiece on campus, sparking conversations about waste reduction, innovation, and what’s possible when we rethink materials,” Ball said. 

Combining efforts with Trashy, WRR, and CNR created the most sustainable system for the project—a closed-loop system where the materials, ideas, projects and people all originated from within the NC State community. “It’s homegrown. You know the same language and you have the same stomping grounds, so it’s a good fit. You want your own people,” Ruffino said about working with Trashy.  

Trashy and Sustainable Design

Olson started Trashy with the idea of contributing to sustainable furniture design, but the impact of the company has reached beyond that initial goal. 

“We started as a company trying to break into the furniture world, but we’re realizing that people think about us as a material company as well,” Olson said. 

Now, Trashy helps shape the conversations around sustainable design by shedding light on the invasive nature of stone procurement and the benefits of alternative materials.

“We’re a replacement for a stone product in furniture and the way you get stone is so hidden from the average person,” Olson said. “You just don’t think about stone slabs as something that you have to cut out of a mountain to get. It’s a very aggressive material to procure.”

Looking forward, Olson wants to see Trashy in the architectural, landscaping and furniture industries where they can provide value for anyone using pre-cast concrete. 

The applications for Trashy at NC State abound, too, and Ruffino expressed excitement about connecting Trashy with university architecture for exterior construction and furniture. “She’s doing a great thing with her company, and I know they’re still in the early phases,” he said.

Sustainable Entrepreneurship

Before starting Trashy, Olson explored working with different materials—and different routes—to reduce waste. In fact, Olson’s original intent was not to be an entrepreneur. She hoped to join another company that was already pursuing a sustainable solution for EPS, but no one had done so in the design industry.

When there was no one else addressing the problem, Olson felt compelled to do so herself. “The concept of being able to displace so much material by creating something was so compelling to me. As a designer, you’re more aware of all of the materials that you design with and the resources that it takes,” she said. 

Through Trashy, she found a way to pursue what she was passionate about and have an environmental impact centered around ever-growing EPS waste.

“I thought that with all the alternatives for packaging that are coming out, Styrofoam use would be going down. But in the early research I did at NC State, I saw that Styrofoam usage was going up in all sectors. The packaging usage is continuing to increase, too, and it’s not small increases,” Olson said. 

As difficult as starting a company while managing a large family was, Olson felt compelled to enact the change she wanted to see. “I felt like I had to do something with this [idea] and see it through, because I would definitely regret it if I didn’t do the best I could do,” she said.

Olson offered three pieces of advice for NC State students aspiring to make their mark in the sustainability industry: 

1. Research thoroughly to see what similar products exist.
   Before starting Trashy, Olson hoped to find another company that was making sustainable concrete furniture and join their efforts. Only after thorough research did she decide to go the route of starting a company.
2. Solve a problem people care about and will consider buying.
   “The difference between a great idea and a successful business is that people want to buy the product and use it,” she said. 
3. Use resources at NC State.
   Whether it’s a class you can take with business planning, an entrepreneurship opportunity, or ideation practice in a research group, the resources that you have as a student are invaluable.

Starting a company was not the easiest career path for Olson, but it was the path she felt compelled to take. Her prior experiences not only at NC State but also in her previous career as an Agile Coach helped make her mission a success, as she balanced skills in facilitation, project management and goal setting. Trashy allowed Olson to channel her talents, passion and education to create tangible change in the sustainability industry.

Sustainability on Campus

The stoneware table and stool tops were made with Trashy diverted EPS waste from campus move-in, repurposing massive amounts of material. The project not only showcased environmentally focused ingenuity but also contributed to WRR’s annual goal of diverting 70% of campus waste. 

Each year, achieving this goal requires active participation from the entire NC State community. 

“Students and campus partners can better understand and support our mission by engaging with our outreach efforts and using the tools and guidance we provide. Learning what materials belong in recycling, compost, landfill, and specialty collections helps reduce contamination and strengthens our overall impact. Choosing reuse whenever possible also directly advances our waste reduction priorities. Most importantly, staying curious and asking questions about where campus waste goes helps build a culture of shared responsibility and sustainability at NC State,” Ball said. 

To learn more about WRR or get involved with sustainability efforts on campus, head to the WRR website.

This post was originally published in Climate and Sustainability Academy.