Paul Bulteel

Waste: like the air we breathe, it is part of life. When badly managed, it destroys habitats on land, pollutes the air, and befouls our rivers and oceans. For human populations this translates into major health issues. Avoiding excess consumption and recycling waste are therefore crucial. But what does recycling really mean? Although the term is familiar, hardly anyone can form a mental picture of what recycling actually entails. Belgian photographer Paul Bulteel takes on this task in a series of striking and highly illuminating photographs of what happens when our discarded paper, metal, glass, plastic, appliances, clothing and countless other industrial byproducts and leftovers are broken down and transformed into new materials. Visually fascinating and well documented, these images give us food for thought.