Woman in India's Assam weaves plastic waste to make handbags, doormats

She started the venture, Village Weaves, in 2004 as the sight of plastic waste around the lanes of her home turned disturbing, according to a news story published by ‘The Better India’ website.

Shen then tried weaving it like she would do bamboo. Following simple techniques, she integrated plastic with cotton threads to weave different products on a primitive handloom.

Rupjyoti and a few other women started collecting plastic covers thrown around the lanes surrounding their neighbourhood. The waste was washed and dried thoroughly. The bags were then cut into strips using a pair of scissors, and tied by hand from end-to-end to make one long thread.

The cotton thread is woven in the vertical direction on a traditional handloom and horizontal weaves are made using the plastic thread.

In 2012, Rupjyoti set up a sales outlet named Kaziranga Haat, where the products were showcased so tourists could browse through them before purchasing.

This method of weaving plastic is now used across 35 villages in the state, and over 2,000 women have been trained.