Trashy Bags
Encyclopedia
Trashy Bags is a registered non-governmental organization (NGO) that recycles solid plastic waste into fashionable bags and gifts. The factory and showroom are located in Accra
, the capital of the Republic of Ghana
in West Africa
. A British architect, Stuart Gold, established the organization in 2007.
The company employs over sixty Ghanaian workers to collect, clean and stitch plastic trash in the form of sachets that previously contained water and other beverages. With these, they create plastic bags, accessories, school supplies, and other products.
The plastic sachets is a problem because local recycling initiatives and waste management infrastructure
is not sufficient and most Ghanaian people throw their waste on the streets.
The company has recycled approximately 20 million sachets since its start in 2007 to prevent large environmental
damage. Every month nearly 200,000 plastic sachets are collected and brought to Trashy Bags by a network of collectors employed by Trashy Bags. The Trashy Bags are sold at the showroom in Dzorwulu, Accra
near the Kotoka International Airport
, online, and exported to seven countries in Europe
and the United States.
In 2011, Trashy Bags started using discarded billboards to produce their collection of bags and accessories called Ad Bags. In Ghana, used billboard are often burned or disposed in other environmentally harmful way. Trashy Bags uses this material to produce unique products, each being one of its kind.
in Ghana
can be bought on the streets where vendors sell them in small plastic bags called sachets to the public. The sachets (0.5L) were introduced in 2004 to provide safe and affordable drinking water
for customers in sachets. The sachets can be opened easily in the corners to drink from, but after usage the plastic packaging is discarded and will usually end up back on the streets or in informal trash heaps.
The local artist Tei Huagie, who specializes in making art out of waste, created the first bag out of the plastic sachets. The entrepreneur Stuart Gold, together with his local business partner, noticed the potential of the product and started the Trashy Bags company in 2007.
The factory started in Madina
and the showroom in Accra
, but after a year the factory and showroom merged and relocated to the neighborhood Dzorwulu in the capital
Accra
.
Another milestone in Trashy Bags' development occurred in 2011, when discarded billboards started to be used for producing a new collection of Trashy Bags products called Ad Bags.
(mainly water sachets and products made by Fan Milk Limited
) and transported to the factory
. At the factory
the sachets are weighed and bought in at a fixed rate by the Trashy Bags Company. The collection and delivery of the sachets to the company is done by regular sachet collectors, generally unemployed individuals. After that, all the sachets are sorted and have one side cut off to make washing and cleaning from both inside and outside possible. Next, the sachets are cleaned and dried outside in the sun. Finally, the sachets are sewn into sheets and stitched into plastic bags. The accessories
are attached, bags are checked and sent to the showroom
on the first floor of the building
.
Production of the Ad Bags starts off by precise cutting of specific parts of the used billboards. The cutting is performed in a way that the most attractive parts of the billboards (such as faces of celebrities) are ultimately located on the main parts of the products. The rest of the production process of Ad Bags resembles production regular fabric products.
, hat
s, wallet
s, water bottle holders and shopping bags
for everyday use. Many of the products are design
ed in-house by their own workers and given names that are unique to Trashy Bags' range. These include Sankofa, Mama Africa, Moonlight, Home Sweet Home, Fish Bag and Obaapa. Personified embroideries such as logos or name tags can be added as well.
in Madrid
, Spain
.
The film, directed by Kwesi Owusu, was screened at the Environmental Film Festival of Accra
which is an annual event in Accra and organized by Creative Storm. The premiere of the documentary "Fantastic in Plastic" was at the Trashy Bags premises in Dzorwulu in Accra on 6 June 2010 and shown again at the British Council the following week. Fantastic in Plastic has also been selected and has been shown at the Africa in Motion Film Festival
in Edinburgh
, Scotland
26th Oct - 5th Nov 2010.
which promotes the use of reusable shopping bags made from recycled sachets over disposable plastic bags normally given with each purchase. The goal of the Smart Ghana Initiative is to inform people about the plastic waste problem by offering them recycled plastic
shopping bag
s made from the plastic waste
of Accra
streets,, clean up Ghana and reduce the number of disposable bags. Through this initiative, companies can buy advertisement space on Smart Bags in order to reduce their price. The Trashy Smart Bag is the most popular Trashy Bag sold. Made from 70 drinking water sachets, it carries over 45 pounds
(20kg). The Trashy Smart Bag also fits into a small supermarket trolley. It also stands alone upright so that one's groceries will not spill and folds into its own cloth or sachet bag which closes with a zipper so it is compact and easy to stow away in a shoulder bag or car.
With the money that companies pay for the advertisement, Trashy Bags can cover their production costs
so that the bags can be sold for one Ghanaian cedi
(one dollar
/pound
/euro
in the US/UK/Europe
) in supermarkets and other shops. A leaflet with information about the plastic waste problem is given with every bag. The affordability of the bag makes it available to the public and increases the amount of environmental education in Ghana, especially regarding the plastic waste problem.
to The Black Stars made from re-cycled plastic wastes collected from the Ohene Djan Sports Stadium during the opening ceremony of the Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana 2008.
next to the road towards Kumasi
which can hold up to 36 houses, the road is being constructed at the moment. The realization of he project is helped by volunteers from all over the world.
Accra
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...
, the capital of the Republic of Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
in West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
. A British architect, Stuart Gold, established the organization in 2007.
The company employs over sixty Ghanaian workers to collect, clean and stitch plastic trash in the form of sachets that previously contained water and other beverages. With these, they create plastic bags, accessories, school supplies, and other products.
The plastic sachets is a problem because local recycling initiatives and waste management infrastructure
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
is not sufficient and most Ghanaian people throw their waste on the streets.
The company has recycled approximately 20 million sachets since its start in 2007 to prevent large environmental
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
damage. Every month nearly 200,000 plastic sachets are collected and brought to Trashy Bags by a network of collectors employed by Trashy Bags. The Trashy Bags are sold at the showroom in Dzorwulu, Accra
Accra
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...
near the Kotoka International Airport
Kotoka International Airport
Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana, is the country's premier international airport and has the capacity for large aircraft such as the Boeing 747-800...
, online, and exported to seven countries in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and the United States.
In 2011, Trashy Bags started using discarded billboards to produce their collection of bags and accessories called Ad Bags. In Ghana, used billboard are often burned or disposed in other environmentally harmful way. Trashy Bags uses this material to produce unique products, each being one of its kind.
History
Hygienic waterWater
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
in Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
can be bought on the streets where vendors sell them in small plastic bags called sachets to the public. The sachets (0.5L) were introduced in 2004 to provide safe and affordable drinking water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
for customers in sachets. The sachets can be opened easily in the corners to drink from, but after usage the plastic packaging is discarded and will usually end up back on the streets or in informal trash heaps.
The local artist Tei Huagie, who specializes in making art out of waste, created the first bag out of the plastic sachets. The entrepreneur Stuart Gold, together with his local business partner, noticed the potential of the product and started the Trashy Bags company in 2007.
The factory started in Madina
Madina, Ghana
Madina is a town in southeastern Ghana near the capital Accra. Elevation 75m. It is next to the University of Ghana and houses the Institute of Local Government. Traditionally it is under the La Stool. The land on which the town is situated belongs to the La People. According to Legend, Hausas...
and the showroom in Accra
Accra
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...
, but after a year the factory and showroom merged and relocated to the neighborhood Dzorwulu in the capital
Capital City
Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
Accra
Accra
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...
.
Another milestone in Trashy Bags' development occurred in 2011, when discarded billboards started to be used for producing a new collection of Trashy Bags products called Ad Bags.
Production process
First, the sachets are collected from the streets of AccraAccra
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...
(mainly water sachets and products made by Fan Milk Limited
Fan Milk Limited
Fan Milk Nigeria Plc was founded in 1960 by a Danish Merchant and Industrialist Erik Emborg with a recombination-plant at Ibadan, a distribution centre in Lagos with less than 30 employees....
) and transported to the factory
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
. At the factory
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
the sachets are weighed and bought in at a fixed rate by the Trashy Bags Company. The collection and delivery of the sachets to the company is done by regular sachet collectors, generally unemployed individuals. After that, all the sachets are sorted and have one side cut off to make washing and cleaning from both inside and outside possible. Next, the sachets are cleaned and dried outside in the sun. Finally, the sachets are sewn into sheets and stitched into plastic bags. The accessories
Fashion accessory
Fashion accessories are decorative items that supplement and complement clothes, such as jewelery, gloves, handbags, hats, belts, scarves, wigs, watches, sunglasses, pins, stockings, bow ties, hand fans, leg warmers, leggings, neckties, suspenders, and tights....
are attached, bags are checked and sent to the showroom
Showroom
The word showroom has two distinct meanings including:-Marketing location:A showroom is a large space used to display products for sale, such as automobiles, furniture, appliances, carpet or apparel. The World's most famous locations for a showroom are the Champs Elysees in Paris or the 5th Avenue...
on the first floor of the building
Building
In architecture, construction, engineering, real estate development and technology the word building may refer to one of the following:...
.
Production of the Ad Bags starts off by precise cutting of specific parts of the used billboards. The cutting is performed in a way that the most attractive parts of the billboards (such as faces of celebrities) are ultimately located on the main parts of the products. The rest of the production process of Ad Bags resembles production regular fabric products.
Products
The company makes over 350 different variations of 23 standard lines of product. The product list includes laptop bags, messenger bags, tote bags, vanity cases, backpacks, sports holdalls, pursesHandbag
A handbag, or purse in American English, is a handled medium-to-large bag that is often fashionably designed, typically used by women, to hold personal items such as wallet/coins, keys, cosmetics, a hairbrush, pepper spray, cigarettes, mobile phone etc....
, hat
Hat
A hat is a head covering. It can be worn for protection against the elements, for ceremonial or religious reasons, for safety, or as a fashion accessory. In the past, hats were an indicator of social status...
s, wallet
Wallet
A wallet, or billfold, is a small, flat case that is used to carry personal items such as cash, credit cards, identification documents , photographs, business cards and other paper or laminated cards...
s, water bottle holders and shopping bags
Shopping Bag
Shopping Bag was released in 1972 by The Partridge Family. The vinyl release of the album contained a novelty plastic shopping bag. The album went gold and is now available on CD and iTunes....
for everyday use. Many of the products are design
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
ed in-house by their own workers and given names that are unique to Trashy Bags' range. These include Sankofa, Mama Africa, Moonlight, Home Sweet Home, Fish Bag and Obaapa. Personified embroideries such as logos or name tags can be added as well.
MTV EMA Music Awards 2010
Trashy Bags were presented as one of the official gifts to the celebrities on the 7th of November 2010 at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2010 (EMA)MTV Europe Music Awards
The MTV Europe Music Awards were established in 1994 by MTV Networks Europe to celebrate the most popular music videos in Europe. Originally beginning as an alternative to the American MTV Video Music Awards, the MTV Europe Music Awards is today a popular celebration of what MTV viewers consider...
in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
Fantastic in Plastic
In June 2010 Trashy Bags commissioned a film to be made by one of Ghana’s film companies, Creative Storm.The film, directed by Kwesi Owusu, was screened at the Environmental Film Festival of Accra
Accra
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...
which is an annual event in Accra and organized by Creative Storm. The premiere of the documentary "Fantastic in Plastic" was at the Trashy Bags premises in Dzorwulu in Accra on 6 June 2010 and shown again at the British Council the following week. Fantastic in Plastic has also been selected and has been shown at the Africa in Motion Film Festival
Africa in Motion
Africa in Motion is an annual African film festival which takes place in Edinburgh, Scotland, in late October/early November. The primary aim of the festival is to offer audiences in Scotland a chance to view the best of African cinema from across the continent...
in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
26th Oct - 5th Nov 2010.
Smart Ghana Initiative
The Smart Ghana Initiative is a projectProject
A project in business and science is typically defined as a collaborative enterprise, frequently involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular aim. Projects can be further defined as temporary rather than permanent social systems that are constituted by teams...
which promotes the use of reusable shopping bags made from recycled sachets over disposable plastic bags normally given with each purchase. The goal of the Smart Ghana Initiative is to inform people about the plastic waste problem by offering them recycled plastic
Plastic recycling
Plastic recycling is the process of recovering scrap or waste plastics and reprocessing the material into useful products, sometimes completely different in form from their original state. For instance, this could mean melting down soft drink bottles and then casting them as plastic chairs and tables...
shopping bag
Shopping bag
Shopping bags are medium sized bags, typically around 10-20 litres in volume , that are often used by grocery shoppers to carry home their purchases...
s made from the plastic waste
Plastic recycling
Plastic recycling is the process of recovering scrap or waste plastics and reprocessing the material into useful products, sometimes completely different in form from their original state. For instance, this could mean melting down soft drink bottles and then casting them as plastic chairs and tables...
of Accra
Accra
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...
streets,, clean up Ghana and reduce the number of disposable bags. Through this initiative, companies can buy advertisement space on Smart Bags in order to reduce their price. The Trashy Smart Bag is the most popular Trashy Bag sold. Made from 70 drinking water sachets, it carries over 45 pounds
Pound (mass)
The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
(20kg). The Trashy Smart Bag also fits into a small supermarket trolley. It also stands alone upright so that one's groceries will not spill and folds into its own cloth or sachet bag which closes with a zipper so it is compact and easy to stow away in a shoulder bag or car.
With the money that companies pay for the advertisement, Trashy Bags can cover their production costs
Cost-of-production theory of value
In economics, the cost-of-production theory of value is the theory that the price of an object or condition is determined by the sum of the cost of the resources that went into making it...
so that the bags can be sold for one Ghanaian cedi
Ghanaian cedi
The Ghana Cedi is the unit of currency of Ghana. The word "cedi" is derived from the Akan word for cowry shell. The Ghana cedi was introduced on 3 July 2007 and is equal to 10,000 old cedis...
(one dollar
Dollar
The dollar is the name of the official currency of many countries, including Australia, Belize, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, and the United States.-Etymology:...
/pound
Pound (currency)
The pound is a unit of currency in some nations. The term originated in England as the value of a pound of silver.The word pound is the English translation of the Latin word libra, which was the unit of account of the Roman Empire...
/euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
in the US/UK/Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
) in supermarkets and other shops. A leaflet with information about the plastic waste problem is given with every bag. The affordability of the bag makes it available to the public and increases the amount of environmental education in Ghana, especially regarding the plastic waste problem.
Honour to the Ghanaian national soccer team Black Stars
In 2008, the Trashy Bags company honoured seven players of The Black Stars for their outstanding performances at the Ghana 2008 26th MTN Africa Cup of Nations. The company gave a donation of 40 bags worth 1,200 Ghanaian cediGhanaian cedi
The Ghana Cedi is the unit of currency of Ghana. The word "cedi" is derived from the Akan word for cowry shell. The Ghana cedi was introduced on 3 July 2007 and is equal to 10,000 old cedis...
to The Black Stars made from re-cycled plastic wastes collected from the Ohene Djan Sports Stadium during the opening ceremony of the Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana 2008.
Trashy Bags Housing Project
The company of Trashy Bags feels responsibility for their employees. Inadequate housing is widespread in Accra, and many workers are homeless or live in cramped and unhygienic conditions. The Trashy Bags Housing Project, launched in 2009, aims to create affordable housing for its workers. The company bought a parcel in the village of Amasaman just outside AccraAccra
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...
next to the road towards Kumasi
Kumasi
Kumasi is a city in southern central Ghana's Ashanti region. It is located near Lake Bosomtwe, in the Rain Forest Region about northwest of Accra. Kumasi is approximately north of the Equator and north of the Gulf of Guinea...
which can hold up to 36 houses, the road is being constructed at the moment. The realization of he project is helped by volunteers from all over the world.