Upcycling glass bottles in Lebanon. In order to reconfigure glass (from wine or beer bottles for example) it has to endure extremely high temperatures.
Chafic Abi Abdallah used to work in the hospitality industry, but grew weary of sitting in front of the computer for twelve hours a day. So he set out on a trip to Southeast Asia to clear his mind and dream up more hands-on and community-oriented job prospects.
Chafic Abi Abdallah
During his journey throughout India, Cambodia and elsewhere, he noticed how differently people treat their non-organic waste, how they were more likely to recycle burlap and other things. Coming from Lebanon, where waste piles up (like the Hiria dump in Israel) and recycling options are limited, Abdallah became inspired. Several months later, he started Reverse Garbage.
With a little input from a friend, Abdallah began recycling a variety of discarded glass bottles into beautiful tumblers and wine glasses – which have both practical value as an up-cycled product and also create a lovely product for homeowners.
He coerces the glass through extreme temperatures – very hot and very cold – and then marks them with a diamond cutter before shaping and sanding down the edges.
Upcycled wine bottles, better than landfill
He told The Daily Star that in developed countries, up and recycling is fashionable. But in developing countries like Lebanon, these activities are borne out of necessity. People who can’t easily afford a new product will instead re-purpose what they do have.
But he hopes that his work will have the added benefit of generating awareness. When recycling bins were introduced to Lebanon several years ago, they were not accompanied by any kind of education. The why behind the recycling initiative was never explained and therefore the practice was not readily embraced.
He works out of a small studio in Furn-al-Chabbak and does offers both home and instore sales. Although he Abdallah is happy to collect the glass from people’s homes, in time he hopes to create a recycling point at the Tawlet restaurant in Mar Mikhael, where his work is proudly showcased.
Although his work benefits the environment, and he now helps others to learn the craft, he refuses to label himself as an environmentalist as he fears that people will become enraged with this “label.”
More on Upcycling, Recycling, and Lebanon
Meet Hanna Faouri – the Upcycling Designer from Jordan
Artiquea: The Beautiful Art of Recycling Glass
Sharjah Man Revolutionizes the UAE with Recycling Program
Author: Tafline Laylin
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
Corina: I visited a place in Kenya called Kintengela Glass run by artist Nani Croze. ALL of her art is produced from recycled glass. It’s really incredible! It satisfies the need to be creative and the need to conserve all at once.
That’s really interesting, didn’t even know you can do something like that! The world could learn from him and companies could try to do this too. And he is right, people think this is fashionable. What they don’t think about is the fact that in poor countries this is a necessity!