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Trashy Film - Fantastic in Plastic
by Tomas Prochazka
Jan 18th 2012.
It has been exactly 3 months since I arrived at Kotoka airport in Accra – overwhelmed and full of expectations. Looking at it now, I certainly see my time in Ghana as an eye opening experience that was more than just about living, working and traveling in West Africa. I had the opportunity to live and breath as a member of the Trashy Bags family – greet the guards every morning; chat with the cut-and-wash crew; eat fufu with the workers at the Paparazzi bistro; play with the Trashy Bags toddlers; watch the design team give Trashy Bags will still keep on making the ever popular pencil cases or pink coloured hats made of Fan Yogo sachets. However, the Ad Bags open up a whole new range of opportunities and will hopefully direct the company into becoming more economically sustainable. While the sachet products appealed mainly to environmentally aware customers, the Ad Bags are also fashionably attractive.
Trashy Bags is a social enterprise based in Accra, Ghana that makes recycled eco-friendly bags and gifts from plastic trash.
We employ over sixty local people to collect, clean and stitch plastic trash in the form of sachets that have been previously used to contain drinking water and other drinks, into fashionable and useful bags and other products. Plastic sachets have become a big problem across Africa because of the lack of recycling initiatives and waste management infrastructure.
Trashy Bags is leading the way in sustainable development in Africa in the area of plastic recycling and we have collected and recycled approximately 20 million plastic sachets since we started in 2007. Every month nearly 200,000 plastic sachets are being collected and brought to Trashy Bags by a network of people who are obtaining an income from their efforts.
We make over 350 different variations of 23 standard lines of product. Our product list includes laptop bags, messenger bags, tote bags, vanity cases, backpacks, sports holdalls, purses, hats, wallets, water bottle holders and shopping bags for everyday use. We make designer products which have been designed in-house by our own workers and some given names that are unique to our range. These include laptop sleeves, e-reader sleeves, shoulder bags and handbags like Sankofa, Mama Africa, Moonlight, Home Sweet Home, Fish Bag and Obaapa.
The new range of Trashy Ad Bags are made from discarded advertising billboards which are now proliferating throughout Accra, Ghana’s capital city.
While all those memories will always stay with me, my time in Trashy Bags was also marked by a significant transition of the company itself. After 4 years, and millions and millions of recycled water and Fan Milk sachets, Trashy Bags accepted a new challenge. A challenge of introducing products made of large billboards, banners and pull ups – Trashy Ad Bags. Once used, the vinyl flexi material that they are made of is only very scarcely disposed in an environmentally friendly way. By introducing this whole new range of products, Trashy Bags follows the footsteps of the well-
Trashy Blog
Fantastic in Plastic is a fun documentary film about a very special day at Trashy Bags. It was produced for the Environmental Film Festival of Accra and was premiered on June 6th 2010
Trashy Photo Gallery
Some Original Trashy Products (available to buy now)
Trashy Ad Bags are made from discarded advertising billboards that are now proliferating throughout Accra, Ghana’s capital city in West Africa.
Because the Ad Bags are all made from different billboards, each one cut for individual products, every one of the Ad Bags is unique in design and colour.
Trashy Ad Bags are hand-crafted with a luxurious batik or wax print fabric lining.
Trashy Bags - Recycled and Eco-Friendly Bags and Gifts from Ghana
See what Trashy Bags is doing for the environment in Ghana. Latest news on the Smart Ghana Initiative...
News - Smart Ghana Initiative
Trashy Comments
“It's a super super campaign I must say and the most inspiring.”
Chani - Sri Lanka
I love the gym bag. Do you sell to the US yet?
Jamie - OH, USA
Trashy Employees
“Congratulations for this beautiful project!”
Nathalie - Belgium
The New Trashy Ad Bags
Upcycled from discarded advertising billboards
