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.

“Alexandra and I usually collect a big bagful of trash during each clean-up. We try to recycle and upcycle as many items as possible. There’s a sense of satisfaction in giving a new lease of life to old treasures or trash,” said Yau, 39, from her home in Ulu Melaka, Langkawi recently.

Alexandra is the reason why Yau started picking up plastic waste from the beaches in Langkawi.

Interestingly, it was young Alexandra who inspired Yau to upcycle plastic waste.

“When Alexandra was a toddler, she enjoyed watching the Barbie In A Mermaid Tale movies, which highlighted the dangers of plastics to marine life. She was overwhelmed and encouraged me to pick up trash on the beach.

“We then researched and watched several Pinterest videos for ideas and inspiration. We went on to upcycle plastic bottles, turning them into dreamcatchers and other decorative items,” said Yau.

Yau is also aware about the effects of climate change and how it is one of the biggest threats affecting humanity. She’s deeply concerned about the millions of tonnes of plastic waste that goes into the ocean yearly.

Single-use plastic items can be upcycled and transformed into simple decorative items.

Yau is passionate about the environment, and she wants to do what she can to protect it.

Plastic bottles are a huge environmental problem, and Yau feels that with some creativity, these disposable bottles can be turned into useful house items like pencil zipper cases, upcycled bird feeders and DIY storage containers.

YouTube video tutorials like 33 Ideas How To Reuse Plastic At Home on 5-Minute Crafts DIY show how we can reuse and repurpose plastic to make buttons, coasters and watering cans.

Yau, carrying an upcycled bag she made, wants to lessen her carbon footprint by recycling and upcyling plastic waste she collects.

Since 2014, Yau has been running a part-time crafting business, Bohobybujbecs, where she sells necklaces made from kimono textiles, earrings made from upcycled wood, and other accessories.

She holds a full-time job as a creative director of a Langkawi-based digital advertising agency, which she co-owns with her husband Kharmirul Azran and cousin, Benjamin Ang.

Throughout the pandemic, she has been organising upcycling workshops on the island and, when travel restrictions were lifted, in others states around the country. In these sessions, she teaches people to repurpose and upcycle plastic bottles, single-use plastics and textile.

“I want to inspire Malaysians to care for the environment. Hopefully, they will make significant changes to protect our planet in time to come. It is my wish that more people start upcycling and repurposing items to lessen their carbon footprint,” said Yau, who uprooted from Petaling Jaya to Langkawi with Kharmirul in 2016 for “a slower pace of life”.

Trash into treasure

Yau upcycles plastic bags and uses them as material to create clutches, sling bags, phone pouches and tote bags.

“I have a super love for bags, hence the reason why people call me ‘Becs’,” she said.

Yes, this clutch is made from upcycled plastic bags.

“The pattern influences for my creations are from Pinterest, my ‘go to’ place for inspiration.”

To create these items, she first washes and dries the bags, cuts them into different shapes, and fuses them using an iron. She then uses the “material” to create her bags which come in different styles. It takes her just about 10 minutes to create a simple clutch, measuring 10cm by 25cm. Yau uses between five and 30 plastic bags to create a clutch, depending on the size.

Yau isn’t the first or only designer who’s upclyling waste or plastics into fashion items while doing her bit for the environment.

Even big fashion labels like Longchamp, Cuyana and Patagonia create bags from truck tarps, old sails, and plastic bottles. French luxury brand Longchamp’s Le Pliage Green range is made from recycled polyamide canvas, derived from fishing nets and old carpets.

Yau (centre) has been organising upcycling workshops where she teaches people to repurpose and upcycle three materials - plastic bottles, single-use plastic and textile.

In the last two years, Yau has conducted a series of upcycling workshops and set up pop-up booths of her upcycled items in the Klang Valley, Terengganu, Penang and Perak.

“Our modules are fun and straightforward and can capture the interest of just about anyone from any age group. Our purpose is to teach participants about upcycling using recycled materials readily available at home. The objective is to find immediate solutions of turning trash into treasure.

“So far, the response to our workshops and pop-up booths has been astounding! We are overwhelmed and excited at the same time. We are mostly sold out; sometimes, we get on-the-spot custom orders. We even have inquiries from upcycling stores in Australia and Paris,” says Yau.

In the last few months, she has been extremely busy juggling her full-time job and her workshops. The hours are long, but Yau doesn’t mind as she knows it’s for a good cause.

This colourful bag is made from plastic she collected from the beach.

“I am a workaholic. I work between 16 and 22 hours a day, depending on my workload. I work mostly from home – my dining table turns to an office table in the day. After midnight, it becomes a workshop table where I make my upcycled creations,” said the cheerful woman.

She hopes that more Malaysians pick up recyclying and upcycling and encourages more people to do their little bit to help the environment. Slowly but surely, she hopes to convince more consumers to be open to the concept of using pre-loved items or upcycled goods.

“From the workshops, I can see that most participants are happy to breathe new life into used plastic bags. They seem thrilled with the idea of taking random coloured plastic bags, fusing them using an iron, and transforming them into clutches and bags. People are appreciative of the process. They see it as an immediate solution to reducing plastic waste.

“In each workshop, participants are introduced to different materials, like plastic bottles, egg cartons and recycled textiles and beads. They are then encouraged to put on their thinking cap to come up with interesting ideas to upcycle them. These can include bags, clutches and fashion accessories.”

“Many of them have taken the initiative to try making their own projects at home and some even tag us when they post their artworks and products on social media,” said Yau, who promotes her products on www.ekha.my and bohobybujbecs on Instagram.

Seeing the potential of using plastic waste in creating fashion items, Yau hopes more clothing labels will adopt greener and more sustainable solutions to their fast fashion.

Through her upcycling workshops, Yau teaches children how to fuse used plastic bags together and turn them into bags.

“Companies could include in their labels the percentage of recycled materials used. I think this is an exciting approach where consumers can get information first-hand.

“Clothing and apparels companies can also launch green campaigns to create more awareness (about their efforts). For example, using recycled materials for wrappings and packaging. It is equally important to educate consumers so they will shop responsibly,” said Yau.

In the next few weeks, Yau has lined up a series of upcycling workshops in collaboration with Langkawi’s National Art Gallery and the launch of Ipoh’s Street Art Lane.

“I am also launching my ‘Sponsor A Kampung’ programme where I will go down to the grassroots and teach our arts and craft upcycling modules to communities in Langkawi. At the same time, I want to create passive working opportunities for themm and promote the villagers’ artworks in retail outlets.

“I am aiming to give sustainable fashion a boost, and promote products that are 100% Langkawi made,” said Yau, who wants to explore the idea of creating footwear from recycled items.