00:00what happens to school children's homework at the end of the year in
00:05Benin English teacher Eric Herman Ahan Hanzo is giving newspaper a second
00:09line I'm an eco-friendly craftsman I focus mainly on recycling paper waste
00:17he collects used papers and cardboards from schools and printing centers in
00:21the southern city of Kotonou including this school ran by Guillermo Boko
00:28here at my school we can produce up to say one to two tons a year he comes to
00:34pick it up he was able to recycle the waste right in front of me once and
00:38that's what motivated me to help him out the school is right next to his home and
00:43studio Eric Herman always manages to find materials that are unique for his crafts
00:48he cuts and rolls paper into tubes they are assembled into home decor and
00:53jewelry the pieces are then left in the sand to dry naturally waste management
00:59remains a major urban challenge in West Africa schools offices and printing
01:04centers generate large amounts of paper most of it dumped in landfills of band
01:09polluting nearby communities now you don't see people smoking on the trash piles
01:16anymore and you don't see paper just lying around everywhere so that's actually part
01:22of what motivated us trained in decorative arts and origami Eric Herman Ahan Hanzo is
01:28teaching others that West can become anything you want I plan to use them I
01:36plan to use this paper I plan to use these objects in decoration at events like
01:41weddings birthdays and others from homework to home decor very common proofs that
01:49recycling isn't just about reducing waste it is about reshaping how we value what
01:55we throw away
Comments