Did you know that the beverage packet you throw away every day, that normally ends up in the landfills can actually be turned into something useful?
Upcycling is the answer.
While the concept may be unfamiliar to the average Malaysian, local communities have begun to embrace upcycling; not only to conserve the environment but to maintain the livelihood of members of their own community through income-generating upcycling initiatives.
Four local communities have recently joined forces with MILO to tackle the problem of plastic waste by upcycling MILO stick packs and sachets collected through MILO Stik Pek X-Change.
This initiative is part of MILO Sayang Bumi, a pledge that MILO has taken to embrace sustainable practices, improving its products and processes for the good of the planet.
The impact of this collaboration stretches beyond its environmental and socioeconomic benefits.
Upcycling MILO stick packs and sachets into practical handicrafts also contributes towards the conservation, appreciation, and pride of homegrown arts and crafts.
Through this meaningful campaign, these four local communities help people in need to find a source of income while ensuring Malaysian handicrafts are not lost to time.
UPcycled Shack
UPcycled Shack is the brainchild of architect Tressie Yap, whose passion for green architecture led her on a path to fighting environmental pollution especially in the rivers and beaches of her home state of Sabah.
UPcycled Shack empowers rural B40 communities with upcycling skills to turn everyday household waste such as plastic bottles, plastic bags and packaging into artisanal crafts and wearables, including jewelry and homewear.
MILO fans will be delighted to know among the daily items that are reused for upcycling, MILO packs and sachets are favoured for accessories such as clutches, laptop cases, phone cases, placemats and coasters.
The partnership with MILO provides UPcycled Shack a national platform to bring greater awareness on harnessing the power of, in Yap’s own words, “turning trash into treasure” for the good of the planet.
Inspirasi Kreatif
Saharuddin Basri and Norsidah Masri, the husband and wife team behind Inspirasi Kreatif initiated the community outfit in 2009 as a supplier for schools, sourcing goods that are related to the subject Kemahiran Hidup such as gardening tools, sewing kits and cooking utensils.
Woven bags, egg baskets and water bottle bags are among the more popular upcycled handicrafts produced by Inspirasi Kreatif which, depending on the scale of the project, requires a team of up to 20 artisans to make.
Helping Hands Penan
Social enterprise Helping Hands Penan has been on a mission to empower the Penan community in Sarawak through the art of weaving since 2007. Penan women are naturally skilled weavers.
Through various projects, their weaving skills are appreciated and it also helps generate income for their family. Funds raised from the sale of the woven crafts are also channelled into protecting the welfare and safeguarding the education of Penan children and youth.
The initial stage of the collaboration with MILO posed a creative challenge to the Penan weavers. While they are accustomed to weaving bags from rattan and PVC strips, weaving used plastic packaging is a completely different experience, which they quickly overcame with some training.
A team of 6 weavers is now undertaking the upcycling project, transforming used MILO stick packs and sachets into practical tote bags and coasters.
Nerine Ong
As bringing your own grocery bag is now the new norm, why not use an upcycled one made by the creative hands of Nerine Ong?
A remisier by profession, Ong began her sustainability journey 2 years ago by upcycling food packaging to help her local community create practical handicrafts such as baskets and bags.
Having honed her handicraft skills on her own for the past 20 years, she believes she can create a bigger impact by sharing her knowledge with the community.
The MILO soft packs are one of the most commonly used items in her designs. Through this partnership, she is flexing her creative muscle even further by exploring new ways to incorporate MILO stick packs and sachets of various sizes into her grocery basket designs.
If you would like to be part of this green game, visit https://milo.com.my/stikpekxchange for more details.
Sources: This is a press release provided by Ogilvy Malaysia.
Editor: Raymond Chen
Proofreader: Sarah Yeoh
