Bottle caps, straws, fishing line, and other discarded objects are cut, combined, and reconfigured into small, hybrid creatures. Rather than fully disguising their origin, the pieces remain recognisable, allowing familiar items to take on new roles. There is a certain logic to how each ‘insect’ comes together, though the process often begins simply by noticing a shape or detail that suggests a form. all images courtesy of Henk Loorbach Loorbach reshapes plastic waste into a new taxonomy of insects Each piece is housed in a reused container, cigar boxes, drawers, or frames, adapted into display cases.

This method recalls natural history collections, but with a slight shift in meaning. Instead of preserving biological specimens, these cases frame objects made from materials typically considered disposable. The result sits somewhere between classification and improvisation, with no strict taxonomy guiding the arrangement.

Material and scale play a central role. The small size of the works invites closer inspection, echoing the way both insects and microplastics tend to escape immediate attention. Surfaces remain textured and layered, carrying traces of previous use while forming new compositions.

In this way, the project doesn’t just reuse material, it lets that material speak a little. Designer Henk Loorbach turns excess plastic into representations of what is becoming scarce, establishing a quiet but pointed relationship between production and loss. Litterbugs suggests that what we throw away and what we risk losing may be more closely connected than they first appear. plastic waste is reassembled into small insect-like forms discarded fragments take on new roles as hybrid creatures found materials are cut, combined, and recomposed the insect sculprures retain traces of their previous life as waste plastic fragments form a new kind of micro-ecology reused containers become display cases for each piece bottle caps and straws become structural elements cigar boxes and drawers frame the objects as collections waste replaces biological specimens in these displays each object begins with a detail that suggests a form familiar items remain visible within each composition small-scale objects invite close observation waste is transformed into representations of what is disappearing project info: name: Litterbugs designer: Henk Loorbach | @henkloorbach designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here. edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom