Recycled Plastic Robes: Plastic wastes used to make monk's robes in Thailand

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The saffron robes worn by monks in Thailand are an iconic sight. But at one temple, they're also helping to reduce pollution. The monks of a temple in Bangkok have been wearing robes made from plastic bottles and other recycled materials. CGTN's Martin Lowe explains.

Buddhist monks at a temple in the Thai capital Bangkok. But the robes these monks are wearing are made from plastic waste.

Sixty plastic bottles can be recycled in making each set of robes. The monks say everyone has a part to play in clearing the planet of plastic trash.

PHRA MAHA PRANOM ASSISTANT ABBOT, CHAK DAENG TEMPLE "I was looking for a way to recycle plastic bottles. I heard someone had made a shirt from plastic, so I thought we could make our monks' robes."

Plastic bottles are donated to the temple. The monks crush them into bales and send them to a recycling plant, where they're combined with cotton and zinc oxide to produce fabric.

The fabric's returned to the temple to be made into robes. Thirty percent of each robe comes from recycled materials.

MARTIN LOWE BANGKOK "The monks say every little helps in tackling what is a global problem. They hope their ideas will spread and be taken up by big corporations."

Thailand produces around a million tonnes of plastic waste each year; it's one of the worst offenders for illegal dumping. A campaign's underway to reduce plastic use.

The monks also make t-shirts, belts even chairs from plastic. They're looking for new ways to reduce the trash that ends up in landfills, or worse still, the sea destroying both the environment and marine life. Martin Lowe, CGTN, Bangkok.