I was introduced to this really neat publication yesterday at my internship. It's called LANDFILL, and it's to be a yearly publication. The first issue, "Second Chances" tells the stories of 13 different men and women who felt like they were given a second chance at life. All of the stories are moving, though not all of them involve near-death experiences. One story is about a small-town young woman who moves to California and gets the chance to "reinvent" herself.

The story behind the name, and the first issue, is giving paper a second chance at life. The designer and printer behind the publication are both eco-conscious, and run their businesses as such. The printer, Greg Barber, saw a broadcast on TV about how 60% of landfill problems in the U.S. were caused by paper waste. He converted his business to using post-consumer waste paper (recycling paper = giving it a second life). So, LANDFILL is a demonstration of his corporate identity as "the EcoFriendly Printer," and the amazing design strategy of Brian Ponto.

The thirteen stories were written on paper that is pressed with wild flower seeds and the ink used was a non toxic toner. The stories were then buried in various locations throughout New York. After the paper breaks down, the wild flower seeds will be planted, giving new life to the physical stories themselves. The actual publication was printed on Mohawk's 100% PCW (post-consumer waste) paper.

Isn't that such a cool idea? It makes me want to do something like that. The paper probably wouldn't be hard to find, but I don't have access to non-toxic toner. Hmm... I wonder if Pawel has non-toxic toner at Alliance?

Check out the online version of LANDFILL: Second Chances here.

Labels: Brian Ponto, design, eco-conscious, eco-friendly, environment, Greg Barber, internship, LANDFILL, landfills, paper, publications, rebirth, reinvent, second chances, W+H