This Telangana Woman is repurposing plastic waste into utilitarian artefacts

This computer science postgraduate is now trying to do her bit in protecting the environment by transforming plastic waste and other eco-friendly material into utilitarian artefacts

Hanamkonda: What started as a hobby for Vineela Alvala in her childhood took a three-decade-long break and then got triggered again, courtesy a few inspirational videos on YouTube. This computer science postgraduate is now trying to do her bit in protecting the environment by transforming plastic waste and other eco-friendly material into utilitarian artefacts or handicrafts with ‘trash to treasure’ as a tagline.

“Right from my childhood, I had this hobby of making various crafts. I came across a few videos on YouTube recently and thought of re-starting my childhood passion. We all know that disposing of plastic waste has become a menace which is very harmful to the environment. I wanted to do my bit in this regard and started making utilitarian artefacts out of plastic waste. I used plastic bottles, wedding cards, carton boxes, disposable cups and other recyclable materials like jute,” she told ‘Telangana Today’.

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“Using these material, I made flower vases, multipurpose stands, photo frames, hanging lanterns, jewellery boxes, bed lamps, home decor articles and other such utilitarian artefacts. When I shared the photos of my work with friends and family, they liked my work and asked me to do it for them and were even ready to buy from me. Recently, an NGO has ordered us to make 100 handcrafted jute mementos which was well appreciated by the guests who took part in that event,” she added.

She said that four to five hours were needed to make one artefact, and there are different stages involved right from taking the exact measurements, finding the required waste material and making the product ready.

“We need to do it with immense concentration as the designs are very intricate, any lapse in focus will affect the look and feel of the product. I started gifting my products to my well-wishers at their events and they liked them very much as very rarely do you come across such hand-crafted products,” Vineela said, adding that she had been a getting a decent monthly income by selling the products.

“I thank my husband Prof Manduva Venkata Satish Kumar, who is working with the KITS, Huzurabad, for his support to pursue my passion,” she said, adding that she was trying to enhance her skills and make many such utilitarian artefacts out of plastic waste and do a bit to help protecting the environment. She also expressed her willingness to lend her skill to the interested members of women’s self-help groups.