The second life of waste: Turning used bottle into art, new products

Recycling waste plastic bottles. [File]

To some, an empty wine, water or liquor bottle is simply waste, something to be thrown away once its contents are gone.

But in the hands of a creative mind, the same bottle can become a drinking glass, a flower vase, a piece of art or even raw material for another product.

Across Kenya, a small but growing group of artists and entrepreneurs are finding new uses for discarded materials like glass bottles, challenging the traditional idea that waste has only one destination: the dumpsite.

Among them are Roysambu-based artist Maxxy and El Vaso Glassware, a Nairobi-based enterprise turning discarded bottles into glassware and exploring other uses for crushed glass.

While Maxxy transforms bottles and broken glass into artwork, El Vaso cuts discarded bottles into functional household items and is working towards using the glass offcuts in secondary production.

Their work illustrates the growing possibilities of creative upcycling, where discarded materials can be transformed into products that have a new purpose and often a higher perceived value item.

For Maxxy, the journey into upcycling began with a bottle that carried a memory. After sharing a drink with his father for the first time, he kept the bottle, which he later transformed into a piece of art instead of throwing it away as a form of remembrance.It is that experience that changed his perception of objects that many consider waste.

“I realised that items many people consider waste can carry memories, emotions and stories worth preserving,” Maxxy said.

What began as a personal keepsake has since developed into an artistic practice in which discarded bottles are turned into decorative pieces used as wall décor.

Maxxy sources most of his bottles from waste collectors who gather recyclable items from clubs and entertainment venues. He meets them in the morning after they have collected bottles from the previous night, selects those he needs, and takes them to his studio for cleaning and preparation.

For him, upcycling is not simply about making art from discarded materials, but changing how people think about what they throw away.

“What many see as waste, I see as the beginning of a creative journey,” Maxxy said.

He believes Kenya could benefit from giving the upcycling industry greater attention, arguing that investment in the sector could reduce waste while creating opportunities for young artists and entrepreneurs.

“Investing in the upcycling industry would not only help reduce waste and protect the environment, but also create employment opportunities, empower young artists and entrepreneurs, and encourage innovation,” said Maxxy.

At El Vaso Glassware, the motivation was initially different, as the enterprise emerged from a waste problem at a hospitality facility where large quantities of bottles from the bar were accumulating.

Judith Ririani, the company's chief executive officer, said she and her daughter began looking for a way to deal with the bottles instead of sending them to dumpsites.

Their first solution was to cut the bottles into drinking glasses that could be used at the facility, allowing them to reuse the containers while reducing the cost of buying new glasses. But the cost of having the bottles cut by an external service provider became expensive, prompting them to research machinery that could allow them to do the work themselves.

The idea eventually grew into an enterprise, El Vaso Glassware, which initially operated from Ms Ririani's backyard. The business now sources bottles from bars, restaurants and other locations, as well as buying them from members of the public.

But the process of cutting the glass bottles soon revealed that simply cutting bottles was not enough, as the pieces left behind still had to be disposed of, creating another waste problem.

“We realised we were creating a secondary problem,” Ms Ririani said.

As a result, the company acquired a crushing machine to process broken glass collected from different places, in preparation for a second phase of production which Ms Ririani said will include glass terrazzo.

The approach is intended to keep as much of the bottle as possible within the production cycle rather than simply shifting it from one form of waste to another.

“Every single bottle that we collect doesn't get back into the dumpsite, irrespective of how small the pieces are,” Ms Ririani said.

The two ventures demonstrate different sides of upcycling, one driven by art and personal expression while the other by a practical waste management problem that evolved into a business.

But beyond creativity and entrepreneurship lies a wider environmental argument.

Environmental expert Ayub Macharia explained that upcycling involves taking materials that could otherwise become waste and transforming them into new products without interfering with their basic chemistry.

“Upcycling is where we take waste and, instead of taking it for recycling, we make other products without interfering with the chemistry of the item,” Mr Macharia said.

He said reuse is recognised under Kenya's Sustainable Waste Management Act and should receive greater attention in the country's approach to waste management.

According to Mr Macharia, extending the life of existing products reduces the need to manufacture new ones and, consequently, the demand for raw materials. This can reduce the extraction of natural resources, pollution, and in the long run, carbon emissions associated with production.

Mr Macharia described those involved in upcycling as environmental entrepreneurs  because their work combines business with environmental conservation.

“They're entrepreneurs, but it is environmental entrepreneurship,” he said.

He said a stronger culture of reuse would allow Kenya to make better use of materials already in circulation instead of continually producing new ones.

However, the environmental potential of upcycling is also tied to the availability of discarded materials and how efficiently they can be collected.

Ms Ririani said companies that produce goods packaged in glass should take greater responsibility for what happens to their containers after use. She said upcycling businesses can only collect a fraction of the bottles entering the waste stream.

“If you've got a winery that is giving you, let's say, about 2,000 bottles, probably what I will get as an entity will be about 200, that's 10%. So the other 90% still goes back into waste,” Ms Ririani said.

She urged companies to establish take-back systems and support organisations involved in collecting and reusing discarded materials to help reduce the amount of waste ending up in dumpsites.

El Vaso is also exploring ways of creating collection points where members of the public can leave unwanted bottles instead of throwing them away.

But even with the environmental benefits, the growth of upcycling is also dependent on whether consumers are willing to embrace products made from discarded materials.

For some consumers, the attraction begins with appearance rather than environmental concerns.

One customer who bought a wine glass and a flower vase made from glass bottles said she was initially drawn to the products because of how attractive they looked.

She learnt that the seller, a university student, had made the pieces himself after asking about the display.

“I bought it because I wanted to support his talent and because they were honestly good looking,” she said.

She said the products had impressed her so much that she has continued buying from the seller, with people often asking where she got the pieces.

The customer said she would also buy other  upcycled products because they demonstrate creativity, dedication and good business.

For her, knowing that the materials had once been discarded only added to their value.

“Someone saw a glass, plastic bottle, shoes and became creative with it. It definitely adds a lot of value,” she said.

Another consumer said discovering upcycling had changed the way they approached household purchases.

The customer said they had moved away from buying newly made glasses and vases from shops and supermarkets and opted for upcycled alternatives because they were creatively made and are stronger.

The experience had also made the consumer more environmentally conscious, as she no longer sees such materials simply as waste.

The different consumer experiences suggest that the appeal of upcycled products is not limited to environmental concerns.

 For some, it is the appearance, uniqueness or quality of the finished product, while for others, it is the knowledge that buying it supports an alternative to the conventional cycle of producing, consuming and discarding.

But people working in the sector say greater awareness and support are needed if upcycling is to move beyond individual artists and small enterprises.

Maxxy believes greater support from the Government, businesses and the public could help Kenya build a stronger upcycling industry. He argues that investing in the sector could simultaneously address waste, create employment and provide opportunities for young people with creative skills.

“I believe that with greater support from the government, businesses and the public, Kenya can build a thriving upcycling industry that benefits both the economy and the environment while inspiring a more sustainable future,” Maxxy said.

However, for Ms Ririani, businesses cannot carry the responsibility alone. She believes producers need to play a greater role in ensuring their products do not simply become waste once consumers are finished with them.

The challenge, ultimately, is not only finding creative uses for discarded materials, but creating a system that makes it easier for those materials to reach the people who can give them another life.

A bottle may begin its journey as a container for a drink, but its usefulness does not necessarily end when the drink is gone.

In the hands of an artist, it can become a memory preserved in glass. In the hands of an entrepreneur, it can become a business opportunity. To a consumer, it can become a beautiful household item.

And from an environmental perspective, it can mean one less material destined for the dumpsite.

What one person sees as waste, another sees as a resource, and in that perception shift, lies the second life of things we have always considered as waste.