‘Recycling Is The Future’, Lessons From Mangaluru Artist Who Turns Discarded Bottles Into Beautiful Art Pieces

New Delhi: What would you do if you come across a plastic or glass bottle carelessly thrown on the road, floating in the river or piling up in some vacant land nearby? While many choose to ignore the sight of plastic waste, some like 23-year-old final year architecture student from Mangaluru, Megha Mendon decided to collect and recycle these discarded waste items into beautiful art pieces. Recently to promote the idea of recycling and sustainability, Megha organised an exhibition at her house displaying artworks created from around 300 bottles. Apart from the exhibition, Megha has also undertaken 5-day workshop to teach people the skill of upcycling waste into decorative pieces.

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Talking to NDTV about this initiative and what motivated her to embrace this cause, Megha Mendon said,

I live near a beach area in Mangaluru, and it was disheartening to see so many plastic/glass bottles waste every now and then there. On one random day, I decided to collect them and do something about it. When I came home, I gather my thoughts together and started painting these bottles. Slowly, I started using these bottles as art pieces at my home.

Also Read: Upcycling Old Jeans Into Funky Bags, Mantra Of This Mumbai Woman Who Gave A Spin To 2,500 Denims

Explaining her journey as an artist to a teacher, Megha Mendon adds,

Recycling and sustainability is the future, the early people understand this fact, the better it will be for the planet. It is time each one of us should start thinking about the environment and how our actions can save it from the huge waste load. I was collecting the bottles from the beach area and near my house from the past two years. But it is recently when I thought of educating other people in my locality about the initiative I have undertaken. If even just a single person gets inspired by me, I will be grateful.

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Till date, Megha has collected more than 900 plastic/glass bottles and has converted it into decorative pieces, some bottles decorated are simply inspired by the culture, while some have the message for saving the environment.

Megha’s future plan is to use other forms of waste and upcycle it using her creativity. She signs off with this message,

Waste should be managed well and each one of us should put some thought on how their waste is being handled. If you look around, whether it is the beaches, mountains, or simply some vacant land near our houses – one common thing every one of us will notice is the carelessly lying garbage. It is time to change this reality and make this planet a better place.

Also Read: Waste Management At Its Creative Best: This Woman From Gujarat Is Upcycling Glass Bottles With A Quirk

In Pictures, Megha’s Artwork 

NDTV – Dettol Banega Swachh India campaign lends support to the Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). Helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, the campaign aims to spread awareness about hygiene and sanitation, the importance of building toilets and making India open defecation free (ODF) by October 2019, a target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014. Over the years, the campaign has widened its scope to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and menstrual hygiene. The campaign has also focused extensively on marine pollution, clean Ganga Project and rejuvenation of Yamuna, two of India’s major river bodies.