[Photo Sparks] Ecopreneurs: entrepreneurs who create wealth out of waste!

In the earlier 25 posts, we brought you creative photographs from an art fair, music festival, telecom expo, art museum, mobile showcase, math museum, social hackathon, bookstore, co-working space, sensorium, lantern festival, outdoor ads, startup roadshow, computer museum, startup T-shirts and Diwali rangoli. In this photo essay, we showcase the work of ecopreneurs – entrepreneurs who create wealth out of waste! Make YourStory’s PhotoSparks your regular source of photographs that celebrate creativity and innovation!

Going ‘green’ or becoming pro-environment through the ‘4 Rs’ (reduce, reuse, recycle, recover) is important not just for sustainable growth but also for a whole spectrum of ‘ecopreneurs.’ These social entrepreneurs see business opportunities in converting waste into useful and even artistic products.

My travels recently took me to a terrific six-day event called Creative Bangkok 2014, which included a mix of workshop (creative thinking), walkshop (street tour of Bangkok), playshop (working with Lego) and drinkshop (making your own cocktails)! One set of sessions was held in the Bangkok Art and Cultural Centre, which also showcased 'upcycled' ecopreneur products at the EcoShop. As these photos from the EcoShop and the walkshop show, entrepreneurship can and should be applied in creative ways even to the scrap materials and discarded items around us, to create viable social enterprises.

Bangkok Art and Cultural Centre (BACC): Art gallery free to the public

Old wine bottles, new wealth: Bags made from recycled cork

Water and more from coconuts: Boards made from discarded coconut shell tops

Ragpicker route: Bags made from recycled fabrics

Print and beyond: Bags made from recycled paper

Future threads: Bags made from used sewing machine spindles

Super-squeeze: Boards made from compressed disposable boxes for drinks

Pet products: Thread and bags made from dog hair

Broken and remade: Tiles of recycled glass panes

Reinventing the wheel: Old tires as pots for plants

Nu Art: Potted plants!

Growing water: Pot made from discarded drinking water bottles

EcoShop motto: Use Less, Waste Less

Food for thought: Books on green design and eco-packaging

Art for thought: So put on your creative hat and look with new eyes at the world around you – what can you do as an ecopreneur?

Got a creative photograph to share? Email us at [email protected]!