Workshop teaches ways to make new items out of common waste
Today, we take you to a workshop in Taiwan that teaches people how to give new life to garbage. In the workshop, you can learn how to use various waste items such as plastic containers, milk cartons, and turn them into wireless phone chargers, phone stands, flower vases, and more. Our reporter Stephany Yang sits in on a class to see what it’s all about.
Stephany Yang
FTV reporter
This store teaches people how to give new life to garbage, and turn waste into new products such as wireless phone chargers and phone stands.
A typical session starts off with using an AI program connected to a camera to learn about what each object is composed of.
Next, participants will move on to check a screen that will indicate whether there are volatile organic compounds, or secondary pollution present during production. The room is wired with air sensors to collect the information.
After that, visitors can take different types of trash and put them into the machine. The trash will be broken into small parts. In just around 10 minutes, this wireless cellphone charger made from garbage is complete. This workshop, called "Trash Kitchen," uses a simple model to allow participants to understand the process of recycling and the circular economy. It uses waste such as plastic bottles and milk cartons, and even parts of used sandals picked up from the beach to make new products like wireless phone chargers, phone stands, flower vases, clothes, and more.
Arthur Huang
Founder and CEO
This space, first and foremost, is for education. The front part is education to teach people that everything you see in this space is all made from trash. From the chair to the structure, to all the beautiful fixtures and housewares that you see. It is all made by the daily waste consumption that we produce. We turn that into a durable material. They can learn about the engineering technique from the software, LCA footprint analysis, all the way to the method of making. How do you turn trash into a new building material with smart machinery?
Trash Kitchen is the brainchild of Arthur Huang, the founder of Miniwiz, a company that specializes in upcycling and turning trash into new buildings. Last year, it opened up a workshop to allow people of all backgrounds and ages to learn how to give new life to trash. Huang says the average participant reduces carbon emissions by 1.1 kilograms.
Arthur Huang
Founder and CEO
Pretty much you can make almost anything. All the way from an airplane, to a car, to a robot. But, we have to dumb it down to something that people can actually experience in 20 minutes. So we decided to have a couple of different small products people can bring back. The first foray, we started in November is a cellphone charger. We started with a wireless 10-watt wireless charger.
The workshop is open to the public, NGOs, and institutions to come and learn how to give new life to products.
Arthur Huang
Founder and CEO
Taiwan is one of the highest recycling countries and cities in the world. We are the highest, if not, the second to the highest. We are comparing between Japan and Germany. We actually have a total recycling rate of about almost 60 %, and that is considered good, but that is the best in the world. The other one is on the PET level, we are almost considered 95% to 99% fully recycle.
There are four Trash Kitchens around the world, in Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore and Saudi Arabia. The team hopes to continue to educate the public and train engineering talent around the world.
2023-03-31
