# Six-Pack Ring Recycled Art Turns Plastic Waste Into Design

- Link: https://greenlivingguy.com/2014/02/six-pack-ring-recycled-art/
- Published: 2014-02-15T01:04:01-05:00
- Author: greenlivingguy

**Six-pack ring recycled art** turned a familiar piece of plastic waste into a tool
for environmental education and social impact. Designer Tatiana Pagés created the
Origomu movement to repurpose discarded rings into wearable art while drawing attention
to marine debris.

## Turning Plastic Waste Into Wearable Art

[⌊Six-pack rings collected for recycled wearable art and plastic-waste reduction⌉⌊
Six-pack rings collected for recycled wearable art and plastic-waste reduction⌉[

Over 46,000 pieces of plastic litter are floating on every square mile of ocean 
today – killing 2 million sea birds and 100,000 marine animals every year – many
of them getting entangled in plastic six-pack rings.

Tatiana Pagés, designer, activist and Chief Creative Officer of [Greencard Creative](https://www.hugedomains.com/domain_profile.cfm?d=greencardcreative&e=com)
fueled her passion for social change by starting a movement called Origomu (Japanese
for “folding rubber”), which aims to keep plastic off of our shores and inspires
environmental action through design. To date, close to 1 million six-pack plastic
rings have been collected and repurposed to create wearable art.

Pagés is also making a difference in the lives of the underserved population in 
the U.S. and in Latin America and is using [Origomu](http://www.origomu.com/) as
a business model aimed to empower low-income women. Within the framework of the 
Origomu movement, she teaches workshops in Harlem for female ex-convicts and she
is using the same model in both Ecuador and the Dominican Republic.

[⌊Wearable art made from recycled plastic six-pack rings⌉⌊Wearable art made from
recycled plastic six-pack rings⌉[

[⌊Recycled six-pack ring art created through the Origomu project⌉⌊Recycled six-pack
ring art created through the Origomu project⌉[

## Why Six-Pack Rings Matter

Plastic loops can pose an entanglement risk to wildlife when they reach rivers, 
beaches and oceans. Creative reuse does not solve plastic pollution by itself. However,
projects like Origomu can make waste visible and give people a reason to think differently
about disposable packaging.

NOAA’s Marine Debris Program identifies six-pack rings as a distinct form of plastic
marine debris and documents the risks created by looped plastic waste.

For more on reducing plastic pollution, see our [plastic recycling education coverage](https://greenlivingguy.com/2023/11/plastic-bottle-recycling-life-cycle-educating-kids-on-plastic-waste/).

## Conclusion

Origomu connected design, recycling and community empowerment. That combination 
made the project more than an art concept. It became a practical example of how 
waste can be reframed as a resource.

Source: [NOAA Marine Debris Program — Six-Pack Rings](https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/monitoring-photo-gallery/plastic/6-pack-rings).

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 greenlivingguy

 The Green Living Guy, Seth Leitman is an independent power producer, a green living
expert, and Editor of the McGraw-Hill, TAB Green Guru Guides. Seth is also an Author,
Radio Host, Reporter, Writer and an Environmental Consultant on green living. The
Green Living Guy writes about green living, green lighting, the green guru guides
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