WHAT do Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus and Frozen’s Olaf have in common?
Looking prepped for Christmas in front of Penang’s City Hall, they are all made from unwanted items. Now given a fresh coat of spray paint and a lot of adhesive, what had been originally thrown to the roadside by irresponsible citizens has been transformed to an attractive piece of decor by a creative team of three.
Headed by Nizuar bin Nordin, who leads the recycling team under the Penang Island City Council (MBPP), along with his colleagues Rizal Effendi and Mohammad Hakimi, the three decided to make use of what they have collected during their daily waste management collection by upcycling them.
This is their second project after their initial project in Jesselton Park, where many yellow Minion characters made from used tyres were displayed. According to Nizuar, this is the time they endeavoured in festive decor.
“I requested for permission from my department director to use what we collected to create these kinds of decorations. He gave us a green light to proceed. We don’t use our working hours to do this. We only spend time doing this during our free time, which is before work, lunchtime or after work.
"We can’t use our formal working hours to do this because we already have our work set out for us. We have to manage the cleanliness of the markets, mobile toilets and food courts,” Nizuar said.
It took them three days to complete this Christmas ensemble.
He told The Vibes that it was quite a last-minute idea and hence it was only put up a week before Christmas. He is planning to design more figurines to be placed at approved spaces for future festivals. – The Vibes, December 24, 2020
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