We live a life where our memories can be immortalized forever in the digital realm if we let them. What we say or do in this realm will, in theory, remain long past our death. But in the physical world, this kind of permanence of memory and experience is lacking. We discard useful objects as trash every day, many of us without a second thought. The value that these objects once had is lost forever in a trash heap or floating in the ocean, the physical nature of the things decaying in their own perceived obsolescence.

But what about the memories and emotions these objects once elicited in someone? Where does that leftover intention go, the faint whisper of the past life of a thing?

When used objects — objects with past lives — are brought together to form something new, they are transformative. The leftover emotional energies form a collective of stories that reconfigure not just space and material, but also time.

An artist or designer who uses recycled materials facilitates a metamorphosis, whether they know it or not. The emotional intention of the creator is blended with the past intentions and experiences of the recycled material. There is a cyclical nature to this process; the present relying on the past, and the past creating the physical source of both the present and the future.

That ineffable quality of the past is now a part of the present.

It’s not just about using recycled material because it’s good for the environment (although for me personally it’s a fundamental starting point). The by-products of the material world come with baggage that has far greater value beyond what new raw material can provide. When interacting with previously owned and loved things I find myself contemplating what sort of life the object had before it made its way to me.

Those embedded emotions, memories and stories are just as important as the material itself and I, too, become part of that story.

If we think about recycled materials in this way, we can create a place where everything is valuable, nothing unwanted. And as we work more intimately with the ingredients of our “stuff,” we start to realize that there are deeper implications to just the surface value of those three Rs.

Material objects aren’t just tools. They give us a framework of experience, and those experiences define our personhood. In the words of psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, “Men and women make order in their selves by first creating and then interacting with the material world.” The relationships that people have with the objects in their lives can be greatly enhanced by reused materials and bring that connection a level up — personal significance, sentimentality, and deeper understanding of the world around us.