Jar Tops: A Product Extends the Life of Other Products

Product designers face a whopping problem when trying to develop sustainable ideas. Their very industry hinges on making more stuff. And making more stuff is often unsustainable, because doing so typically consumes finite natural resources while producing environmentally-damaging waste. One way around this conundrum is to design stuff that allows us to extend the useful life of other stuff, thereby reducing such waste.

Jorre van Ast's resusable Jar Tops (designed for Royal VKB) do this quite well:



Designed to screw onto standard glass containers (mayo and mustard jars, salsa jars, jam and jelly jars, and almost any other kind of jar you buy in a supermarket), these plastic lids convert what would otherwise become waste into a variety of useful kitchen containers.

There are a lot of advantages to this product solution: the uniformity of appearance keeps the repurposed containers looking like an attractive matched set, even if different jar shapes are used. Different tops accommodate different sized jars and the variety of uses (which includes two varieties of pour spout, an oil and vinegar cap, a powder shaker lid, and a sugar pourer) pretty much guarantees anyone with a kitchen can use the full set.



I can see only a couple of minor issues that might be considered:

• The tops are made from polypropylene, which isn't the most recyclable material (commonly known as #5 plastic, the most accessible way to recycle it for most is through Preserve's Gimme 5 program). Luckily, the useful life of this product is extremely long, so that isn't too significant of an issue.
• I'd also like to see the pour spouts come with a closed lid. As they are, they can be used only to serve food products, not to store them.

North Americans can purchase a set of jar tops through Generate Design, and Europeans can get them through Royal VKB.