Malaysian activist turns recycled plastic into bespoke items

Through Precious Plastic Malaysia, Yoong and his team are turning plastic waste into sustainable solutions. Photos: Yoong Yi

Imagine that plastic bottle caps could be melted and transformed into foldable stools and and keychains.

Precious Precious Malaysia (PPM) founder Yoong Yi, 31, wants to raise awareness about plastic waste and enlighten the public on the importance of reducing plastic consumption and its impact on the planet.

Through workshops and community outreach programmes, this Seremban-based activist aspires to inspire a positive change and help individuals make sustainable choices. And this includes upcycling plastic waste into reusable things.

“It takes about 15 plastic bottle caps to make a coaster and approximately five for a keychain. By utilising plastic recycling technologies, we can transform plastic waste into valuable resources instead of discarding them as trash,” said Yoong in an email interview.

Upcycling involves transforming discarded materials into new products of higher value, including these plant pots.

Yoong’s inspiration came from the global movement Precious Plastic, founded in 2013 by Dutch designer Dave Hakkens. And as part of this initiative, PPM empowers individuals, communities, and entrepreneurs to combat plastic waste through open-source recycling technologies and education.

Precious Plastic provides blueprints and instructions for building various recycling machines, including shredder, extruder and injection machine. These machines allow people to process plastic waste locally, turning it into valuable products.

The shredder minces plastic into plastic flakes. Next, flakes are transferred to the injection machine where they are melted and moulded into different products like tiles, coasters and keychains. Meanwhile, the extruder melts flakes into plastic strips and these strips are then used to make items like stools and gardening pots.

Looking for meaning

Yoong’s green journey began when he left his advertising job in 2018, feeling the need for a more meaningful pursuit. Witnessing the mounting plastic pollution crisis, he decided to embrace Precious Plastic and start his business venture, PPM, with an initial investment of RM80,000.

“When I first saw the videos Precious Plastic posted, I was amazed by what they were doing. Their machines can easily upcycle plastic into new things. I have witnessed the escalating plastic pollution crisis in Malaysia and around the world and I want to be part of the solution. Since there was an opening with Precious Plastic, I decided to channel my passion into a business venture with a difference,” said Yoong, who runs the company with eight staff.

Children are impressionable and more open to learning new habits, says Yoong.Since then, PPM has upcycled plastics donated to the cause, producing items like coasters, phone holders, running event medals and stools. Over the past five years, they have recycled 3,980kg of plastic waste and created 28,000 products.

With 167 recycling machines built and sold to organisations like Gamuda, Petronas and Sabah Forestry Department, Yoong’s efforts have not only impacted Malaysia but have reached other countries including Nigeria, South America and Japan.

The transition from advertising to plastic recycling, Yoong admits, was no easy feat. He devoted nine months to learn to build machines from scratch from YouTube.

“Initially, it was a challenge as I am from advertising. Adapting the blueprint to suit Malaysia’s measurement system was a challenge, requiring months of legwork. The blueprint’s measurements are in metric system but Malaysia uses and the imperial measurement system.”

Nevertheless, he pulled it through, selling the three-piece recycling machine at RM20,000.

Coasters made from recycled plastic.He says PPM’s influence goes beyond production; it has conducted 50 workshops with corporations, schools and communities to spread awareness about plastic pollution and responsible consumption.

At schools, they educate students on identifying various plastic types and grades, instilling sustainable practices early. By empowering the younger generation with knowledge, PPM sets the stage for a sustainable future where plastic waste is seen as a valuable resource, rather than simply discarded as trash.

“Last year, we worked with a few schools in the Klang Valley and Negri Sembilan. We taught students how to identify different types of plastics based on different grades like polyethylene terephthalate or plastic 1 (water bottles), high-density polyethylene or plastic 2 (bottle caps and shampoo bottles) and polyvinyl chloride or plastic 3 (PVC pipes and credit cards).

“Children are impressionable and are more open to learning new habits. By teaching them about plastic waste reduction early, we can shape their behaviour and instil sustainable practices that can last a lifetime.”

Yoong and his team are turning plastic waste into a sustainable solution, one workshop at a time.

With each recycled item and every educated mind, PPM moves closer to its vision for a cleaner and greener Malaysia.