From waste to worth

Artist Noel Tañada used materials from plastics; plants and agricultural waste; paper, glass and textile waste; and even hazardous waste to create artistic furniture.

These waste materials can literally build a house for a family, a house made of walls, “concrete slabs”, furniture from tables to cabinet to beds, a lampshade or a lightning fixture.

Tanada’s from waste to exhibit is a first public showcase of plastic, plant and agricultural waste breakthroughs using the process of collection and sorting from partner communities. By using DOST ITDI’s method of cleansing recyclables using Wasto green-clean solutions as well as harnessing the agency’s technologies and self-owned utility models.

Tanada, along with wife Michelle Bautista, worked together to empower communities through skills development for upcycled handmade products alongside machine-based production. The couple designed and transformed these materials into sustainable functional art.

For the exhibit, the Tañada couple used 3,297,86 pieces of single-use plastic sachets from reaching the oceans and landfills.