Most people would take their new vacuum out of its packaging and throw the box away. Jake Tyler used the packaging to make a vacuum instead, reports The Daily Mail.
Jake Tyler’s innovative machine so impressed cleaning giant Vax that it intends to put the model into production.
Mr Tyler developed the ‘ev’ model for his final-year degree project.
He said: ‘I got the idea when we were looking at the manufacture of vacuum cleaners and thinking how to cut out as much waste as possible.
‘It is about being environmentally conscious by using cardboard and making it as recyclable as we possibly can.’
The Vax ev is made from corrugated cardboard panels, which come as part of the packaging.
They can be replaced if damaged and cost a 10th of the price of an equivalent plastic panel.
Jake said: ‘When people’s vacuum cleaners go wrong they just throw them away, but this can be repaired very easily.
‘The cardboard panels have a flame-retardant coating and are also water repellant.’
Other components in the vacuum have been made from recyclable nylon plastic.
This means the Vax ev can be manufactured close to its markets, without the need for expensive production lines or long-distance distribution.
Photos of the vacuum can be viewed here.
Photo by Jason Cartwright