Recycling waste into items for personal or household use

Islamabad
Recycling waste into items for personal or household use is both practical and the need of the hour. Most of the reasons we recycle are environmental, although some are economic, and one of the main reasons for recycling is to reduce the amount of garbage sent to landfills.
In some developed countries garbage disposal bins are different for the garbage that can be recycled like bottles; paper etc, while in others garbage is sorted by machines after being picked up twice or three times a week from residential and commercial areas.
There are a number of NGO's which have recycling projects and one of them is the All Pakistan Women's Association (APWA) Ra'ana Liaquat Craftsmen Colony (APWA-RLCC) which was established in 1949 by Begum Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan to house emigrating craftsmen from India after partition. The craftsmen are long gone but RLCC continues to maintain the legacy of Begum Ra'ana and works for the empowerment of youth and women of the area through improved health, education and economic independence.
With the aim of providing livelihood opportunities to the women of the community, RLCC runs various vocational training classes including computer training, English language, ‘mehndi’ application, cutting and sewing; recycling etc. One of the items from the recycling project are the eye-catching gift bags seen in the picture which are made from waste paper (mostly newspapers). Not only have they made good use of the waste paper but also showcased the traditional block printing that we are used to seeing on material. These colourful gift bags are different from the common, commercial glitzy ones; their purchase helps the underprivileged who produce them to earn a supplementary income and they are environment friendly.
The bags are available at APWA outlets around the country. In Islamabad, Nomad Gallery also stocks them as part of its community service. For orders you can contact info@rlcc.com.pk.