‘Betty Bottletop’ highlights importance of recycling in Brunei


A sea turtle sculpture named Betty Bottletop made of plastic bottles, bottle caps and flip flops corralled from the Panaga beach was handed over to a restaurant at the Panaga Club. The art piece, which highlights the importance of recycling, took two months to complete. Photo shows the sculptor Tobias Tahal handing over the sculpture Ricardo’s Catering co-owner Mari Gonzalez. - Borneo Bulletin/ANN
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (Borneo Bulletin): A sea turtle sculpture made of plastic bottles, bottle caps and flip flops corralled from the Panaga beach was handed over to a restaurant at the Panaga Club on Sunday (June 7).

Tobias Tahal, who is a carpenter and a skilled jewellery designer, put his skills to good use, making use of the discards that had washed up along the shores of Panaga.

The art piece, which highlights the importance of recycling, took two months to complete. A total of 749 bottle caps, 16 flip flops and 10 plastic bottle were used to create ‘Betty Bottletop.’

“With the social distancing rule in place during the Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, I regularly visited the beach collecting unwanted trash that had washed up on shore. I used a home-made bicycle drawn trailer and covered the stretch from Panaga Club all the way to near the Billionth Barrel Monument,” he said.

He presented the Sea Turtle sculpture to Azul Beach Cafe, hoping to help raise awareness on the importance of the Three Rs (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle), which is an environmental movement shared by Ricardo’s Catering co-owner Mari Gonzalez.

“When I first saw the piece, I was thrilled. It is the most incredible hand-made sculpture I have ever seen, made from recycle materials from the beach,” she said.

“This is the first time this sort of sculpture will be displayed at the café,” adding that she hopes it will inspire visitors to do more with items collected from beaches.

“It also helps teach the younger kids about recycling, reusing and avoiding wastage,” she said. - Borneo Bulletin/Asian News Network

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Brunei , Recycling , Sculpture Art

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