Recycling at its trendiest. Photo: Courtesy of Trashy Bags

In Ghana most people drink water from little plastic bags, or sachets. Once emptied, these sachets are often tossed on the ground, clogging storm drains, littering beaches and polluting the ocean, says a recent CNN article. In fact, water sachets are the most common type of trash found on the streets of Accra, the country's capital city.

British entrepreneur Stuart Gold started Trashy Bags to save the sachets from going to waste. The Accra-based NGO pays locals to collect discarded sachets and sew them into purses, grocery bags and other useful accessories. So far, Trashy Bags has collected over 15 million sachets, notes CNN. And their eco-friendly creations are proving to be a hit among tourists as well as locals.

In addition to tidying up the streets, Trashy Bags is also fueling Ghana's feeble job market. More than 60 Ghanaians are employed full-time to sew the bags, and 100 people work part-time to collect water sachets and juice pouches. Trashy Bags' founder explains the project's environmental and economic mission on the nonprofit's website:

Every bag that we sell reduces land pollution, keeps people employed and serves as a very visible reminder that plastic waste can often be put to good use long after its initial purpose has expired. Every bag that we sell is an opportunity to educate the public about their environment and their responsibility to keep it clean for the good of humanity and of the planet's ecosystems as a whole.

An example of the "trashion" bags created by XSProject. Photo: XSProject

Used plastics from Indonesia are being saved from landfills. And former waste pickers are turning these plastics into fashion bags to sell in Singapore, Australia and the United States.

The fad known as "trashion" has gained mainstream acceptance with chic, urban designers worldwide now posting big profits by using leftover, discarded and found materials to create jewelry, clothing and housewares.

The type of plastic used in the bags is found in packaging ranging from soft drinks to detergent to toothpaste and is mostly aluminum bonded to plastic. Use of this plastic is on the rise because it costs companies less to produce, but because it's not recyclable, as hard plastic bottles are, it ends up costing the public more in terms of pollution and environmental damage.

So, the XSProject began as a way to recycle these plastics. Ann Wizer is an artist and environmental activist, who while living in the Philippines had the idea to use trash as her primary medium. This art progressed into developing the XSProject, a non-profit organization which buys plastics from trash pickers and trains trash pickers themselves to make the bags, providing much needed wages. Proceeds from sale of the bags go directly to help the trash-picker communities by providing assistance for daily needs, scholarships and health protection.