Plastic is literally everywhere across Indonesia. Not only littering our beaches, rivers and roadsides, but plastic statistics flood the news, our social media pages and conversations. Some people feel overwhelmed, others frustrated, others sad.

For Elissa Gjertson, however, plastic has become something different: a source of inspiration.

Gjertson is the director of the recycled-art company, Plastik Kembali, which creates products from plastic waste. From her studio in Selong Belanak, she tells My Lombok how PK got started and, more importantly, how they stay afloat among a sea of waste.

How did Plastik Kembali (PK) begin?

My husband and business partner, Daniel, and I became interested in working with plastic when we moved to Lombok in 2018. Upon experiencing so much waste –– and no proper management –– we joined the Selong Belanak Community Association (SBCA) to help with cleanups, educational programs, building Lombok’s first “Goby the Fish” rubbish bin and more. Simultaneously we learned about Precious Plastic, a worldwide movement based in the Netherlands, and joined their amazing community of makers. Today, we have a thriving studio where we create art and goods from recycled plastic collected in Indonesia.

What type of products do you create?

We create bowls, tiles and earrings from recycled Polypropylene plastic (PP or #5) –– plastic used, for example, in single-use water cups, bottle tops and straws. To make the bowls, the plastic is first melted in the oven, then hand-pressed to create each one-of-a-kind item. For the tiles, we use an injection-molding machine, and each is also individually hand-pressed. For the earrings, we first press a tile, then we use a CNC router to carve each shape and, finally, work with our partner, Pai, to do the silver work.

In addition, I also have a team of local artisans who create hand-woven rugs, wall art and bags from “tali” – our PK-designed rope, handmade by twisting recycled plastic bags and scrap fabric or natural fiber. These products are truly homespun from start to finish. The team first collects and cleans the bags, then hand-twists the tali and, finally, weaves each product on handmade looms. We also make sewn rugs, placemats and coasters with the tali to offer a different design finish.

Where do you get the plastic?

We buy from locals as well as purchase PP from a recycling company in Surabaya. We’re also currently collaborating with local hospitality businesses to build a sustainable waste management program based on a supply-chain model – truly thinking of discarded plastic as a valuable resource to be leveraged. This program will be presented to government officials as well as corporations who have expressed interest in supporting our mission of creating local jobs, a cleaner environment and a healthier Lombok.

What’s your philosophy?

We are most inspired by three concepts: Intersectional Environmentalism (IE), Circularity and Sustainable Design. First, from an IE standpoint, we strive to help our community create opportunity from waste that, because of economic or infrastructure challenges, is often unavoidable. Next, we focus on making “circular” products – items that transform existing waste into something that is completely repurposed. Finally, our core passion is creating design-centric, sustainable products. To this end, in addition to inspiring individuals, our main focus is working with hotels, restaurants and boutiques in high-tourism areas looking to spark a new conversation about sustainability with their guests.

How has COVID affected things?

Well, Daniel and I are optimists. Yes, we’ve taken the health precautions seriously, but we also view this planetary “slowdown” as a reset. We looked at the type of work we were doing and wondered how we could help even more. This spurred us to start buying plastic from locals. Then, we decided to expand our team to bring opportunity to people who lost work without tourism. Finally, we had wanted to open a shop, but again, with low tourism numbers, we had to rethink this idea. Instead, we started shipping within Indonesia and recently custom-fitted a “Mobil Toko” so we can be more agile –– many weekends we’re parked beachside at Laut Biru Bar & Restaurant in Selong Belanak selling our wares and, soon, we’ll be traveling to all Lombok Eco Flea Markets or other locations as requested.

Any words of wisdom for others interested in recycling?

Try to focus on the positivity of it all. By this I mean, all the stats about pollution are frankly quite terrifying. But to stay in action, we try to focus on what we’re working toward. What hidden potential can we unearth from that pile of plastic? How much joy and positivity can we spread in the meantime? How can we inspire others to do the same? Shifting from how bleak things may seem to focusing on how good our world can be when we creatively work together … I believe this is how we’ll all succeed.

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