Malaysian crafter picks up beach trash and turns them into bags

Through her workshops, Yau wants to teach participants about upcycling using materials readily available at home. Photos: Rebecca Yau

Rebecca Yau is a rubbish picker and she isn’t ashamed to admit it.

Yau and her daughter daughter Alexandra Yau Azran, six, live in Langkawi and they often clean up the beaches on the island and end up with bags of trash, such as plastic bottles, plastic wrappings, plastic bags and aluminium cans. Instead of throwing the trash away, she thinks of innovative ways to upcycle them.