Last week, I attended the environmental forum organized by the environment committee of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc (PCCII) at their building in McKinley, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig. I want to update myself on the latest developments in the environmental field, especially on new laws and issuances from DENR. I also attended because I want to meet my colleagues in the committee which I have not met for a long time. I was inactive due to my busy work schedule. I am also looking for speakers for the upcoming environmental summit being organized by the Metro Angeles Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MACCII).
One of the topics I liked most was that of Ms. Wilhelmina “Willie” Gracia which was about upcyling. Recycling is different from upcycling. Both are methods for managing waste, but they differ in how they transform discarded materials. Recycling involves breaking down materials to create new ones, often of similar or lower quality, while upcycling transforms materials into something new and often of higher value or quality.
Using her knowledge as a licensed interior designer, Willie came up with various innovative products which I must say are of a different level in terms of artistry and quality. Waste materials, especially plastics, are used in interior designs, furniture, homeware and fashion items. I’ve seen many upcycled products in my years of exposure in waste management especially in the seminars we conducted in the Zero Waste Recycling Movement of the Philippines. Many of these products don’t have much commercial value.
Willie is no ordinary artist. In 2007, she won the interior design grand prize of Metrobank Art and Design Excellence National Competition because of her creative and tasteful use of old construction materials from demolished houses. Motivated by her win, she worked towards making her green design practice sustainable. In 2009, she founded her interior design company Junknot.
She was also commissioned by local and international organizations like the Bank of Philippine Islands, Nielsen and European Chamber to design trophies out of recycled materials. Most interesting of these trophies and medals are those of the 82nd season of UAAP. The trophies are a combination of upcycled plastics, wood, and engineered bamboo. The medal plates are made from bullets, doorknobs, and pipes, collected from the ground zero of the Marawi siege in 2017. Their encasements are made from plastic trash collected in Taal, Batangas and woven by the local community.
One of her unique works is roped plastic. She developed her roped plastic process in an artist residency in Sefrou, Morocco in 2014. Today she is working with a Taal community in creating roped plastics, which are used in all of Junknot’s furniture, homeware, and fashion products, and commissioned works. I recall seeing a chair in a coffee shop in Balibago, Angeles City last year made of roped plastic, probably bought from Junknot.
The business card she handed me was printed on a seed paper. It is a biodegradable paper embedded with seeds designed to be planted in soil. When the paper decomposes, the seeds will germinate and grow into plants. I invited her to be a speaker in the MACCII Environmental Summit. Here’s a chance to see her personally and hear about her work and advocacy.