YANGON (Reuters) – From a distance, ChuChu Design, a single-story building across from the bustling commercial capital of Myanmar, is unlike any other on the impoverished outskirts of the city.
Recycled products are on display at ChuChu House in Dalla County, Yangon, Myanmar, March 4, 2020. REUTERS / Ann Wang
But on closer inspection, the roof was fashioned from old tires, the walls are made of glass bottles and the lampshades made of melted plastic, all items recycled by social enterprise as part of a mission to educate people about waste.
ChuChu – from the Burmese name for “plastic house” – sells handicrafts and fashion products recycled every day from the thousands of tons of waste thrown in Yangon.
The design of the house is designed as a waste statement, said Wendy Neampui, 68, the company’s general manager, which she founded in 2014 with the help of the Italian non-profit organization Cesvi. .
“I wanted to turn garbage from an ugly landfill into beautiful items,” she said, assembling plastic sheeting in a colorful patchwork bottle holder, a technique she learned. on the Internet.
Dozens of designers have been trained and are now working in the business, manufacturing everything from wallets in potato chip packages to laptop covers in cement bags.
“Our project … is not only to work on making beautiful things out of waste, but also to educate people on the fact that waste can be a decoration at home,” she said. declared.
The city government in Southeast Asia claims that more than 2,500 tonnes of garbage are thrown away every day by the approximately 5 million people who live and work there.
Much of it ends up being dumped on roads and waterways, as municipal services struggle to keep pace with rapid urbanization.
Lots of people burn garbage on the street, contributing to air pollution – the city’s air quality is among the worst in the world.
In the canton of Dala, the suburb where ChuChu is located, the streets are strewn with mountains of rotten garbage.
It’s hard to persuade people to buy products made from salvaged items, said Wendy Neampui, so most of the items they make end up in souvenir shops targeting tourists.
The goal is for people to buy not because the products are a curiosity but for their own value, said Friedor Jeske, a German waste management specialist who is also general manager of ChuChu.
“It is a difficult little goal,” he said. “But we’re getting there … slowly.”
Wendy Neampui said she had no illusions that the company would solve the city’s garbage problem. But it is a step in the right direction.
“With this technique, I can help save the environment and make a living,” she said. “It is my ambition.”
Report by Zaw Naing Oo; Editing by Robert Birsel