What if wasteful plastic could be turned into something useful? That is at the heart of what Rice & Carry, an officially certified Fair Trade company on the east coast of Sri Lanka, does. Not only do they collect and repurpose many materials, from Hessian sacks, fishing nets and old saris, they also provide employment at a fair wage for local women.
From the humble plastic rice sack, these skilled women create beach totes, laundry bags, shopping bags, mini purses and much more. See here for the full range of products we stock from Rice & Carry.
The finishing touches
What makes these bags so special is the way they are finished. In some cases, such as the laundry bags and drawstring backpacks, a fabric closure is added, using locally-sourced handwoven cotton. With the beach bags, rope handles add the finishing touch, while the yoga mat bags use buckles on the strap made from recycled plastic bottle caps.
How plastic bottles are collected and recycled
Rice & Carry work with sister partner Waste Less Arugam Bay, a recycling and environmental education centre on the east coast of Sri Lanka. They organise beach clean-up sessions to collect all the plastic waste that washes up on the shores of the area. A large amount of this includes plastic bottles, many of which come not just from Sri Lanka but swept across the oceans from other countries.
However, recycling these bottles is a complex matter. The plastic used in the main body of the bottle is different from that used in the lid, and they cannot be recycled together. The lids have to be separated from the bottles and then turned into small chips in a grinder as seen below left.
The plastic chips from the lids are compressed into moulds at Waste Less Arugam Bay and turned into clips, carabiners, surfboard scrapers, combs and buttons as seen above right.
The mostly clear-coloured plastic from the bottles is flattened and sent to a factory in Colombo where they are turned into thread, which is then used to weave fabric for items such as bags and pencil cases.
Fishing line collection
Another product that often washes up on shore is discarded fishing nets, many of which use plastic cord. As well as being unsightly, they are also a danger to sea life, which can get tangled in the nets. Each pile of nets has to be unravelled and the different types of cord separated, as seen below left. They are then woven into bags and purses, as seen below right and here
Reduce, reuse, recycle
In order to prevent pollution, we need to reduce litter and single-use plastic waste, reusing bottles and bags whenever possible, and recycle the plastic to prevent it ending up in landfill or the sea. Both Waste Less Arugam Bay and Rice & Carry are working hard to follow this principle, and when you buy their products, you are doing your bit for the environment.