Rafael Franco (left) launched his venture with the support of Brendan Cappello. Photo: Oliver Jacques.
An Argentine entrepreneur who moved to Griffith last year is attempting to encourage more residents to recycle with his new venture.
Rafael Franco, 29, has launched Don’t Be Trashy with the support of longstanding local cleaning product business RapidG and its owner Brendan Cappello.
“Last year, Brendan had the idea of doing a new range of garbage bags under the slogan ‘Don’t Be Trashy’,” Mr Franco said.
“I’ve always been passionate about sustainability and how I can make an impact in this area. I wanted to launch the brand while doing something good for the planet.
“So we decided to make the garbage bags from recycled material. We used to buy bags made from virgin plastic [derived from fossil fuel]. But these new bags are made from recycled hard plastics like bottles. But they’re the same strength as normal bags.”
Mr Franco said his Don’t Be Trashy venture was about more than bags – with social media pages launched that include educational material and guides on caring for the environment.
“The main purpose of the brand is not to sell garbage bags, it’s to change behaviour,” he said.
“Australia has a lot of recycling initiatives in the big cities, but not in regional towns, where it’s limited to just putting things in yellow bins and getting 10-cent refunds from Coles and Woolies.
“Not many people follow up and see where things end up, in landfills, how it smells and the impact on the environment.
“A lot of people don’t really know how to recycle in their households, or what to do when they go camping. We’d like to educate people on simple steps they can do to make a difference.”
An Argentine company came up with the logos and design. Photo: Supplied.
The 29-year-old moved to Australia with his partner, Sofia Lafuente, an architect who works with veteran property developer Zep Lanza. He worked in e-commerce and content creation in his home country, where the declining economic situation encouraged him to seek opportunities abroad.
He says he loves living in Griffith and is keen to give something back.
“We want to show someone you can make a difference with something simple like a rubbish bag,” Mr Franco said.
“The normal plastic bags you buy are made from virgin plastics, which are made from petroleum.
“But our bags are made from recycled hard plastics like bottles. Soft plastics [like bags] are very hard to recycle and end up in the ocean. There is a statistic that states more than 50 per cent of turtles die from eating plastic in the ocean.
“We are just starting out and want to see where we can take this. Our aim is to distribute the bags in schools alongside educational guides and videos, where we can really make an impact on the next generation.”
