Cambodian Entrepreneur Turns Plastic Waste Into Brooms
An entrepreneur in Cambodia is making broomsticks out of plastic waste to help reduce pollution in the capital Phnom Penh.
Transcript
00:00 At a small warehouse in Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, workers are turning these plastic
00:07 bottles into the bristles of broomsticks. The business is the brainchild of 41-year-old
00:13 entrepreneur Haskia.
00:14 "If we use plastic bottles, the price will be lower than ours. So I think we can do it.
00:15 Our labor costs are lower than theirs, and the price of the wood is lower than the workers'.
00:16 So we can do it. If we use plastic bottles, the price will be lower than ours. So I think
00:17 we can do it. The labor costs are lower than theirs, and the price of the wood is lower
00:18 than the workers'. So I think we can do it. The labor costs are lower than theirs, and
00:19 the price of the wood is lower than the workers'.
00:20 The labor costs are lower than theirs, and the price of the wood is lower than the workers'.
00:21 Since March last year, Haskia's workers have transformed over 14 metric tons of discarded
00:43 plastic bottles, producing around 500 brooms each day.
01:10 Phnom Penh, a city of around 3 million people, produces up to 38,000 metric tons of trash
01:25 each day, according to government figures. Around one-fifth of that waste is plastic,
01:31 including bags, straws and bottles.
01:33 Inspired by the concept of upcycling, Haskia and his team are turning some of that waste
01:38 into something useful and even durable. Their broomstick has been getting good reviews.
01:44 It's softer and more durable. It doesn't break and it doesn't move up. It doesn't
01:53 move up. It doesn't move up and it doesn't break.
01:57 With positive feedback from across the country, and what seems like an unlimited supply of
02:02 plastic materials, Haskia is confident that his unique brooms can make a clean sweep for
02:07 a more sustainable world.
02:09 John Su and Tani Chi for Time Plus.
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