FURNITURE MADE OF RECYCLED WASTE IN SM AURA PREMIER EXHIBIT

Three chairs made from tsitsirya wrappers and a center table designed with an old car tire; a cargo bike using junk bike parts and plastic waste for the basket; chairs made from the waste collected during a river cleanup in Morocco.

These were some of the pieces showcased in the recent “Junk Not” exhibit at SM Aura Premier, featuring Wilhelmina Garcia’s creative ways of transforming waste materials into functional items. The event was part of SM Aura Premier’s “Lush Initiative,” a campaign promoting green programs in the mall, and part of its Earth Month celebrations.

The “Junk Not” exhibit is a call to action, an advocacy to push everyone to be more creative and responsible with their waste management.

Garcia is the founder of Junk Not, an interior design company that specializes in finding creative ways to transform everyday trash and other indigenous materials into functional items.

Junk Not engages a community of women in Brgy. Alas-as, San Nicolas, Batangas, to be responsible stewards of the environment by training them to segregate and clean household waste. The plastic waste is then turned into ropes that are woven into wooden/metal frames to create beautiful furniture or table accents.

From left: SMSVP for Marketing Millie Dizon, AVP for Operations Bernice Baculi and Junk Not founder Wilhelmina Garcia

To create these chairs, Garcia works closely with the women of Barangay Alas-as in San Nicolas, Batangas.