Trashy Bags Africa is a commercial venture in Accra,

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

, which turns

plastic waste Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles (e.g. plastic bottles, bags and microbeads) in the Earth's environment that adversely affects humans, wildlife and their habitat. Plastics that act as pollutants are catego ...

into

reusable shopping bag A reusable shopping bag, sometimes called a bag-for-life in the UK, is a type of shopping bag which can be reused many times, in contrast to single-use paper or plastic shopping bags. It is often a tote bag made from fabric such as canvas, natu ...

fashion accessories In fashion, an accessory is an item used to contribute, in a secondary manner, to an individual's outfit. Accessories are often chosen to complete an outfit and complement the wearer's look. They have the capacity to further express an individual ...

, school supplies, and other products. The company employs about forty Ghanaian workers to collect, clean and stitch plastic trash in the form of sachets that contained water and other beverages. The packages often (Andrady & Neal 2009; Thompson ''et al.'' 2009''a)'' become litter because local recycling initiatives and waste management infrastructure are insufficient. In Ghana, drinking water (also known as Pure Water), yoghurt and juices are sold in small plastic bags called sachets. This form of packaging was introduced in Ghana in 2004 to provide safe drinking water. The sachets can be opened easily in the corners to drink from, but after use the package is discarded and will usually end up as litter or in informal trash heaps. Plastic sachets that are used to for producing Trashy Bags

Plastic sachets that are used to for producing Trashy Bags

The company has reprocessed approximately 30 million sachets since its founding. Every month about 200,000 plastic sachets are collected and brought to Trashy Bags Africa by a network of collectors employed by Trashy Bags. Its products are sold locally, sold online, and exported to other countries.

History

Local artist Tei Huagie, who makes art out of trash, made the first bag out of plastic sachets. Stuart Gold, a British architect and entrepreneur, together with his local business partner Jane Cordie, started the Trashy Bags company in 2007. Initially, there was a factory in

Madina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the second-holiest city in Islam, and the capital of the ...

and a showroom in Accra, but after a year these were replaced by a combined factory and showroom in the Dzorwulu neighborhood of Accra. Trashy Bags was acquired by Aqua Africa in 2021, rebranding it to Trashy Bags Africa.

Production process

Production of Trashy Bags from used plastic water sachets

Regular collectors gather sachets (mainly

water sachets Water sachets or sachet water is a common form of selling Bottled water, pre-filtered or sanitized water in plastic, heat sealed bags in parts of the global south, and are especially popular in Africa. Water sachets are cheaper to produce than p ...

and products made by

Fan Milk Limited Fan Milk is a manufacturer and retailer of ice cream and frozen dairy products, which has a leading position in the West African market. In 2013, The Abraaj Group, a growth market private equity investor, acquired 100% of the Fan Milk business ...

) from the streets of Accra and bring them to the factory, where they are weighed and bought at a fixed rate. The sachets are sorted and are cut along one edge so the inside can be cleaned. After cleaning, they are dried in the sun. They are sewn together into sheets, which are in turn sewn together to make bags. After fittings are attached, bags are inspected and sent to the

showroom A plumbing fixture showroom, Canada, 1921 A showroom, also referred to as a gallery, is a large space used to display products, entertainment or visual arts. Marketing location A showroom is a large space used to display products for sale, suc ...

on the first floor of the building.Erne, Erik va
"The Trashy Bags Story: Our Bags are Complete Trash"
''Stichting Milieunet'', 8 March 2008. Retrieved 20 November 2010.

Products

The company makes various products, including laptop bags, messenger bags, tote bags,

backpacks A backpack—also called knapsack, schoolbag, rucksack, rucksac, pack, sackpack, booksack, bookbag or backsack—is, in its simplest frameless form, a fabric sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders ...

, purses, hats,

wallet A wallet is a flat case or pouch often used to carry small personal items such as paper currency, credit cards; identification documents such as driver's license, identification card, club card; photographs, transit pass, business cards and ...

s, and reusable

shopping bag Shopping bags are medium-sized bags, typically around 10–20 litres (2.5–5 gallons) in volume (though much larger versions exist, especially for non-grocery shopping), that are used by shoppers to carry home their purchases. Some are intended ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trashy Bags Recycling organizations Environment of Ghana Manufacturing companies based in Accra Social enterprises Environmental organizations established in 2007 Renewable resource companies established in 2007 Manufacturing companies established in 2007 Ghanaian companies established in 2007

History

Production process

Products

See also

References