Young man builds super trendy sunglasses with PET bottles collected on beaches

The amount of plastic present on the planet is worrying. According to the United Nations (UN), 1 million bottles of this material are bought every minute and 500 billion bags are used per year. With that, about 8 million tons of these products end up in the oceans annually, threatening marine life. Faced with this reality, a young man decided to do something with plastic that would be considered just garbage, creating a project that became a novelty in the world of recycling.

O awesome.club applauds initiatives that reuse these materials in a creative and modern way. After all, as much as the idea itself is commendable, its success also depends on the product created from recycled material having a beautiful design and becoming an “object of desire” for people, as, in fact, ended up happening.

In 2018, Malcolm Rendle was walking the Paseo de la Costa by Vicente López, on the banks of the Rio de la Plata, in Argentina, when he came across a scene that had a huge impact on him: the tide had brought plastic bottles that accumulated on the banks. This led him to imagine ways to reuse that material, conceiving a project to literally open people’s eyes to this sad reality.

That’s how this 28-year-old gave life to Bond Eyewear, a company dedicated to sustainable design, which manufactures sunglasses from recycled plastic. “It is a waste when it is not used”, says a small text on the glasses case, whose design was thought to generate zero waste and promote the so-called circular economy, a concept according to which all material must return to the economic cycle, whether in the form of recycling or reuse always with a minimum of ecological impact.

The raw material for Bond Eyewear lenses is obtained from waste collected on the banks of the Rio de la Plata and on other beaches. The plastic is shredded and turned into filaments, which are then used to shape the lenses in a 3D printer and create various designs ranging from classic to contemporary, in a different range of colors.

After building up a small inventory, Malcolm ventured to open a store in Tigre, a town located north of Buenos Aires. There, he offered the manufactured models for sale, with a very clear message: opening people’s eyes to an impending global catastrophe and, in this way, create a link between the community and nature. And he did.

To his surprise, the 150 available glasses — which, according to his estimates, would be sold out in four months — sold out sooner than planned. In just 45 days, 103 pieces had already been sold. In addition, he had announced a pre-sale through his social networks, so the news spread little by little and opticians began to get in touch to resell his creations. The business has already prospered, and recently, Malcolm opened a showroom in the charming neighborhood of Palermo, in Buenos Aires.

Committed to the issue of recycling, Malcolm also offers the possibility for customers to exchange their old glasses for new ones. It is enough to take the old lenses to receive a discount in exchange and thus buy a new model. In this way, the businessman continues to promote the culture of recycling and offers benefits to those who already know the brand.

The culture of recycling must start at home. If you haven’t embarked on this yet, it’s super simple: first, you need to separate all the waste to be able to assess the use that will be given to them later: glass, plastic, aluminum, cans, paper and organic waste. Or, if you want to simplify it a bit, just separate into dry (paper, can, glass and plastic) and organic – in addition to food, packaging that is directly in contact with them, such as pizza boxes. Most cities nowadays have selective collection services or centers where you can deliver the already separated material.

Furthermore, if you want to have a more favorable attitude towards the Planet, you can avoid buying disposable products whenever possible. Malcolm’s example shows that it is always possible to go one step further in preserving the environment.

Do you recycle or reuse products at home? What do you think of this initiative? Tell us in the comments