Malaysian Activist Turns Recycled Plastic into Bespoke Items
Yoong’s inspiration came from the global movement Precious Plastic, founded in 2013 by Dutch designer Dave Hakkens.
SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Imagine that plastic bottle caps could be melted and transformed into foldable stools and and keychains.
Precious Precious Malaysia (PPM) founder Yoong Yi, 31, wants to raise awareness about plastic waste and enlighten the public on the importance of reducing plastic consumption and its impact on the planet.
Through workshops and community outreach programmes, this Seremban-based activist aspires to inspire a positive change and help individuals make sustainable choices. And this includes upcycling plastic waste into reusable things.
“It takes about 15 plastic bottle caps to make a coaster and approximately five for a keychain. By utilising plastic recycling technologies, we can transform plastic waste into valuable resources instead of discarding them as trash,” said Yoong in an email interview.
Yoong’s inspiration came from the global movement Precious Plastic, founded in 2013 by Dutch designer Dave Hakkens. And as part of this initiative, PPM empowers individuals, communities, and entrepreneurs to combat plastic waste through open-source recycling technologies and education.
Precious Plastic provides blueprints and instructions for building various recycling machines, including shredder, extruder and injection machine. These machines allow people to process plastic waste locally, turning it into valuable products.
The shredder minces plastic into plastic flakes. Next, flakes are transferred to the injection machine where they are melted and moulded into different products like tiles, coasters and keychains. Meanwhile, the extruder melts flakes into plastic strips and these strips are then used to make items like stools and gardening pots.
Courtesy: www.thestar.com.my