Gaau1 Furniture is a piece of public furniture made with recycled plastic, which collected and processed locally. We wish to shift the mindset of the general public, treat plastic waste as a precious material.
Gaau1 Furniture is a piece of public furniture made with recycled plastic, which collected and processed locally. We wish to shift the mindset of the general public, treat plastic waste as a precious material.
The word “Gaau1” is the pronunciation of plastic in Cantonese, protruding the importance of “local” in this project. “Local” implies a closer relation between waste maker and recycle process, to give a stronger sense of participation to them. Turning waste into public furniture can be used by locals every day, gives the outcome back to them instead of personal desire.
The project collects local domestic plastic waste, they are then being processed by made in Hong Kong self-built machines and transformed into public furniture for all. The goal is not just to showcase the possibility to make decent public furniture, but engaging the general public throughout the process and giving a greater impression on plastic waste issue.
Chu Wai Kit is a plastic upcycler who was born and live in Hong Kong. After graduated from Bachelor in Architecture, he started Gaau1 Up with friends which upcycle plastic waste by self-building Precious Plastic machines. He joined the Waste No Mall team demonstrating on the waste issue in 2016. He also participated in Precious Plastic version 4 project in Eindhoven for 8 months in 2019, developing the new open-source design to tackle the plastic waste issue.
Gaau1 Up is a plastic upcycling group and a part of Precious Plastic community since 2016. According to Precious Plastic blueprints, Gaau1 Up built different self-built machines to shred and remould plastic locally. Gaau1 Up protrudes “Local Waste, Local Recycle”, promoting plastic waste issue by recycling plastic on a smaller scale and in a closer way.