Recycling of Polythene Papers - Assignment Example

Creative Writing: Recycling of Polythene Papers Name Institution Date Creative Writing: Recycling of Polythene Papers Introduction A very large percentage of plastic bags are used yearly but less than 1% of these are recycled. This fact poses an environmental danger since some of these bags are not biodegradable. Once these products are disposed poorly, they are broken into smaller and smaller pieces by light which then contaminates soil and water. When these small particles get in water they are ingested by some marine animals. This causes biotoxins to be passed from the marine animals to the top of the food chain which are humans (Clean Air Council, 2010). This article focuses on recycling of polythene papers by using them to create other handcraft products for example baskets, toys, mats and home décor items. This idea is inspired by the alarming poor disposal of used polythene papers in some areas. Apart from using the idea to clean the environment it will raise funds that can be used to support community programs and centres. An example is that of donating toys to children centres that children can play with. According to Wills (2010), most recycling programs do not accept plastic bags as they may stick on the machines used to recycle them. This has caused many shopping points to reuse any plastic bags that are brought back by the public. People have also been encouraged to reuse the papers they have. This situation provides a temporary solution because at the end of the day the papers themselves wear out and are eventually disposed of. The disposal may be done in the right way or in the wrong way. Recycling Plastic Bags into Handcrafts This idea is broad and it requires a team of three or four people to plan every detail before the start of the project. It also requires a larger team that will be involved in collecting used plastic bags, cleaning the bags and sorting them into different colours so as to ease the design. It also needs a team of people that are good in handcrafts to help ion making of the products as well as train any people that are willing to learn. Clearly, for the idea to be successful, a large team is needed. The management team has the main responsibility of overseeing the process from collection of waste paper from the streets and homes to the handcrafting of products. It has to ensure that there is productive teamwork from all members of the team. The hardest part is getting people that are good in handcrafts so that they can train willing students and youth so as to ensure that products that are made are presentable, of good quality and durable. It also has to make sure that the team are available for training and production sessions. Once the papers are cleaned they are handcrafted into mats for homes or toys for children. Depending on skills of the team they can also be handcrafted into shopping baskets that are more durable compared to the plastic shopping bags. These products are then sold in shopping centres. This idea is to help in environmental improvement as well as community development. Community development is achieved by enhancing skills of people who will take part in actualization of the idea and giving the funds generated to the community. Barriers to the idea The greatest barrier to this idea is time. The process of collection of used bags either from the streets and willing neighbourhood homes and cleaning and sorting them is one that requires time. It is important that this stage is done carefully to avoid the use of dirty bags in production of the final product as it affects the quality of the product. The only solution to this barrier is looking for a fastermethod of cleaning the shopping bags thatsupersedes washing by hand. It also requires a very dedicated team that will help in sorting without distorting the condition of the plastic bags. Secondly, it is challenging to acquire the right team. Most people that are skilled in handcraft opt to do it on a part time basis or as a hobby. It is therefore important to set the timings depending on the availability of the two or three professional handcraft makers that will be available to train the team. The target production team is students in their free time and youths in the neighbourhood that may be interested in the idea. Some people may also find it hard to collect plastic bags from streets. A third challenge that may be encountered is lack of consistency of the team. This idea has no assured income as it is aimed at cleaning up the environment and enhancing the community. Funds that are collected will not be much and will be used to give back to the society. This idea is not a business idea, it is an environmental idea. All funds that are collected may be donated to a community centre or a children home. This is because the team that will work on it are students and community youths apart from the short term trainers. A fourth challenge is external resistance. People may refuse to buy the products which will create more waste from a waste. Many male students or male community youths may also not be interested in the teamwork because team work appears to be more inclined towards girls and women. However, the entire procedure of collection, cleaning and sorting plastic bags and handcrafting and selling products can be carried out by both female and males. Community work is not specified for any person and can be carried out by all genders(Sectish, 1998). Solutions to the barriers It is significant to note that this idea is an environmental idea not a business idea. It is therefore a voluntary act. In order to ensure that there is consistency in the team that is used in actualizing the idea, the fact that all the collection, cleaning, sorting of plastic bags and the process of handcrafting and selling specific products is done on a voluntary basis is made clear at the beginning. This will ensure that all involved people will understand that they are doing a voluntary work to benefit the neighbouring communities. Understanding this fact from the beginning will ensure that the interested team will be involved the process without expectations of any income. Alternatively, the idea can be presented to an arts or community work oriented student group within the college. This will help because the students are already used to community work. They may even take it up more seriously compared to a group of students that only signed up to be part of the idea. This method will also help in reducing any management problems as they already have a management team that understands the community more. If the team is well known in the community it will meet less external resistance as they already well known. Marketing of the products to the community must be done to ensure that they are well received. This will be further simplified if they are sold by a student body that is active in community work compared to a group of strangers that are not known. This does not mean that if a new group was used the sales would be lower. The only difference is that more marketing will be needed. To ensure that they are sold well, the products must be of good quality. This will ensure that more products will be bought even through referralsfrom friends. A major way of marketing these products is by creating environmental awareness to the community highlighting the effects of poor disposal and mentioning the handcrafts. This can be done through word of mouth, posters and noticeboards. This marketing will interest environmentally conscious people who will buy the handcraft products or drop off any excess plastic bags they have so that they may be used in making handcrafts. Purpose and Lessons Learnt In the Creative Process The main purpose of this idea is environmental impact and community work. Recycling of plastic bags will reduce plastic bag wastes in the streets as well as provide a solution to the problem of accumulated plastic bags in many homes it is also a way of giving back to society. All profits achieved will be donated to the children as well as any products that are not sold. Most of produced toys will be given to children centre and children day care centres hence improving child growth. Lessons learnt in this experience are that a clear analysis of the situation is important in order to come up with a creative idea that will be of greatest impact to the community as well as an individual. Most creative ideas are formed as a solution to a problem in a community or a specific setting. Another lesson is that teamwork and quality of a product are core determinants in the success of any idea. The team involved ensures that products are up to set standards so that they are sold. This is the only way that the idea will be successful. Conclusion The creative idea of using plastic bags to make handcrafts that can be used in homes and workplaces is a solution to poor disposal of plastic bags. It is a great idea as it will have impact in three major spheres: environmental sphere, community development and personal development. It is a method of cleaning up the environment while enhancing the community in small ways. This idea is aimed at creating awareness to the community of ways of reducing waste through plastic bags and using them to make products that are of impressive quality. List of References Clean Air Council (2010) Waste and Recycling Facts Available from [Accessed 21st July 2014]. Sectish, G.(1998) "Plastic shopping bag recycling wastebasket." U.S. Patent No. 5,711,499. Wills, A. (2010, May 24). The Numbers on Plastics. Available from [Accessed 21st July 2014]. Wills, A. (2010) Recycling To-Go Plastics.Available from [Accessed 21st July 2014] Read More