Why throw when they’re not trash, says Penangite who turns glass bottles into works of art

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FROM trash to treasure.

 

This is what Penang-born P. Mabel Dass believes in after picking up an environmental-friendly hobby by recycling used glass bottles into delightful and decorative pieces.

 

When interviewed by Buletin Mutiara today, Mabel said the act of recycling used glass bottles, which only started as a normal practice at home, has now become her favourite hobby.

 

“One fine day, I was staring down at all the glass bottles at home. Instead of throwing them away and causing environmental pollution, I decided to do something with them.

 

One of Mabel’s decorated glass bottles.

 

“That was when I googled up on glass bottles and what can be done with them instead of just discarding them.

 

“I was amazed when I saw various glass bottles coated with eye-catching colours and decorated with various beautiful-looking ornaments.

 

“That moment I realised how beautiful art can be and that it can also be present anywhere and be made of any recycled items. All it takes is a pinch of creativity.

 

“I realised it slowly became a routine and a preferred activity, especially after office hours and during the weekends, when I started putting in more effort to purchase extra items such as brushes, decorative items, watercolours and many others,” Mabel told Buletin Mutiara during an exclusive interview today.

 

 

Although new in this area, all her life, Mabel has been living with a practice of reuse, reduce and recreate for a better environment for all.

 

When asked about her future plans, she said while there are ideas of expanding and exploring her new hobby, there is still room for improvement and full focus for now is to execute even more creative ideas on the bottles.

 

Besides glass bottles, Mabel also specialises in flower bouquet arrangement and is truly passionate about gardening.

 

“The world we live in is constantly growing in terms of technology advancement. Let us not drift away from the nature and its beauty.

 

 

“It is important to have greenery in the place we live. Families should, once in a while, practise gardening activities to foster better relationship with one another.

 

“No time could have been better than now as a lot of people are still working from home due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” she added.

 

Story and pix by Kevin Vimal