BENGALURU: Every weekend, Rajalakshmi Sridharan loves to visit the Pallikaranai marshland in Chennai. But not to look at migratory birds or take a stroll. The 24-year-old IT professional scrounges through the dumpyard to pick up empty glass bottles and caps. She then takes them home, washes thoroughly and gives them a makeover.
From Frozen’s favourite character Olaf to the one instrument Margazhi music season is incomplete without — the veena — Rajalakshmi turns these bottles into eye-catching gifts that double as home decor. Her Eureka moment happened when she noticed the migratory birds that flock to the marshland sit on broken glass pieces.
“The road leading to the dumpyard is strewn with many glass bottles. Once the sticker on the bottles is removed after a thorough wash, they are good as new. Till date I have painted 100-odd bottles that were discarded,” she said. She prefers to go to the road leading to the dumpyard in the morning as the place is deserted. Rajalakshmi quickly finishes her job within one hour. “I wanted others to try this too. That’s why I regularly post videos on YouTube to explain the cleaning process involved. Even if people recycle a handful of used bottles it will make a difference,” she said.
Other than this, she collects used bottles that are dumped near Tasmac shops close to her hostel and also from scrap dealers. Conservancy workers help her get as many unbroken bottles as possible. “Other than painting them, I fit twinkly lights inside the bottles too. These are very popular and were quickly purchased by many,” she said. Though buying new glass bottles from shops is an easier option, Rajalakshmi did not opt for this as she wanted to do her part in recycling used glass products. She uses her own money to buy paint, detergent, and other raw materials. Now as more orders have come in, she doesn’t have sufficient funds to fully meet the demand. “I make sure that even the bottle caps don’t find their way back to the dumpyard again. I paint and make them into fridge magnets. For the last month, due to shortage of funds I couldn’t paint many bottles,” she said.
To place orders and pitch in for this initiative, call 7094575337 or reach out to her on Instagram: @raje_inkworks