Nothing Wasted: How Terracotta Runs a Nearly Zero-Waste Studio

We save a lot of things at Terracotta. Clay scraps, packing paper, the thick plastic bags our clay comes in. Broken pottery, too, if there's something we can do with it. If you've ever looked around the studio and wondered, “Are they keeping that?” the answer is probably yes. We have plans.

Some of this is practical. We go through a lot of materials between classes and studio time, and throwing away something we can still use doesn't make much sense. But I also have a hard time looking at a beautiful piece of broken pottery and deciding it's done. Have you seen some of those glaze colors? I'm not ready to say goodbye.

There's a difference between saving useful materials and hoarding. I'd like to think ours is the labeling system.

That clay isn't finished yet

When you're learning pottery, you make things that don't work out. A bowl collapses. A handle doesn't cooperate. You trim a little too enthusiastically and find the bottom of your pot from the wrong side. If this has happened to you, welcome. You're making pottery.

As long as that clay hasn't been fired and is still usable, we can reclaim it. Soft scraps get worked back into clay. Dry pieces need to soak and break down first, a process called slaking, before we prepare them to use again.

It takes time, and it's messy. We do it anyway. Your bowl may have had a rough afternoon, but the clay is fine. Someone can try again with it.

Yes, we need those bags

Donated newspaper and saved packing paper get used throughout the studios. Paper can support a hand-built form while it dries, and we keep wrapping materials on hand for finished pottery heading home.

If you have a box or bag you can bring when you pick up your pieces, please do. I appreciate the confidence of anyone who thinks they can carry six bowls and a chicken to the car in one trip. I would still like you to bring a box.

We also save the plastic bags our clay arrives in. They're sturdy and useful for covering unfinished work. Clay needs to dry slowly and evenly, and those bags help us manage that. Buying new plastic to do the same job would feel ridiculous when we already have perfectly good bags sitting right there.

Broken, but still pretty

This part is harder. Once pottery has been fired, we can't soak it down and start over. And losing a piece you've spent time on is disappointing, even when you've been making pottery for years. You are allowed to be sad about the bowl. We get attached, too.

We save suitable broken glazed pieces for mosaics and jewelry projects. We sort them for workshops and local makers, so a color or texture we loved can still be used somewhere else.

I'd rather see those bits become part of someone's garden mosaic than throw them away. It doesn't undo the disappointment of a broken pot, but finding a use for the pieces helps. Especially that one bit where the glaze came out exactly right. We're keeping that.

And sometimes, glass

Some of our collected glass is used in supervised kiln projects on decorative pottery. The surface effects can be beautiful, but this is something we handle carefully in the studio. The type of glass, its compatibility with the clay and firing, and what the finished piece will be used for all matter.

Please talk with an instructor rather than adding found glass to your pottery on your own. We love enthusiasm. We also need to know what's going into the kiln.

A can of food for a new project

Unclaimed pottery accumulates. People get busy, plans change, and sometimes a project gets left behind. No judgment. Most of us have an unfinished project somewhere, although yours may not be taking up an entire studio shelf.

Our canned-food swap is one of my favorite ways to get those pieces off the shelves. We offer unclaimed, unfinished pottery in exchange for canned food donations for local food banks.

You might find a piece you'd never have thought to make yourself and have a very good time finishing it. We get some shelf space back, and the donations help our neighbors. I love that a forgotten pottery project can do that.

If you choose a piece that still needs glazing or firing, ask us about the next steps before taking it home. Unfinished pottery can be at very different stages, and we'll help you figure out what yours needs.

Still a work in progress. Obviously.

We buy materials in bulk where it makes sense, reuse containers, and try to avoid disposable supplies when we have a reusable option. There are still things we have to throw away. Some materials can't be safely reused, and ordering studio supplies means dealing with packaging we didn't choose.

So when we say “nearly zero-waste,” we don't mean we've solved everything. We're paying attention and trying to do better with what comes through our doors. Sometimes that means a good system. Sometimes it means standing over a box, trying to decide whether we actually need to save it.

Making pottery has made me more aware of how much goes into the things we use every day. After you've attached your own mug handle, you tend to notice everyone else's. You also develop some fairly strong opinions about handles. I could go on. I won't, today.

I want that care to carry over into how we run Terracotta. We put time into these materials, and so do you. It matters to me that we don't treat them as disposable just because a project didn't go as planned.

If you've found a useful way to reuse studio scraps or supplies, tell us next time you're in. We're always glad to hear a good idea. Just don't leave a mystery box of broken glass on the doorstep, please. I feel like I should say that part out loud.