lokaReboon

Research

Stakeholders：

Before balloons being used, it approaches factory, distributors, individuals, etc. Afterwards, it requires recyclers, sorters, manufacturers, designers to recycle and remake them. The main scenario of using balloons are parties, wedding, school and company events. The balloons for these scenes were decorated by balloon studios. So, our main recycling source of waste balloons are manufacturers, balloon studios, hotels and individual users. 

We interviewed the balloon studio and joined events with them and found that the balloons were punctured and thrown away as general rubbish because “It’s hard to recycle them because the recycling cost would be higher than the revenue.” In addition, balloon factories are another major source of wasted balloons. In the Xiong'an balloon factory, every month a tonne of waste balloons would be generated due to substandard quality. These balloons would be sold to recycled rubber factories at a very low price and re-made into other rubber products.

lokaReboon

Ripple from textile and I teamed up to explore the potential of recycled balloons. We recycle the balloon and remake it into new sustainable materials 'lokaReboon', lokaReboon insists on traceable recycling, sustainable regeneration and no secondary pollution throughout the production chain. The material has rubber's excellent strength and abrasion resistance. The balloons’ rich colours are preserved in new material, so there is no need for secondary dyeing and industrial waste water. 

For more information, please view loka's instagram: lokareboon or website: www.lokareboon.com

Service

For balloon manufacturers, studios and hotels where we could a get batch of balloons, we choose to cooperate with them directly, and recycle balloons regularly. They can call us or upload the information of balloon on our website then deliver balloon to us.

How do we sort balloons by colour after receiving batches of balloons?

We’ve tried both manual sorting and machine sorting by infrared technology.

For manual sorting. We contacted some local unemployed women who are keen to do the balloon sorting, providing a Balloon handcrafted workshop on colour sorting and matching instructions. The manual sorting could offer new jobs opportunities for local women. For machine sorting, We contacted the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology which own the technology patent. Currently infrared sorting technology has been used for medicine sorting, It is viable for balloon sorting. This method could be more efficient and precise, but need high equipment costs.

How do we recycle and sort balloons from individual users？

For individual users organising parties at home, school or company occasionally, any amount of balloons can be recycled in this offline modular recycling bin, which offers them a more tangible and easy way to recycle balloons.  This bin is also easier for individuals to throw and sort as well as use balloons for workshops, because user can see the three states of the recycled balloon, the raw material, the collaged balloons and the new material lokaReboon. It is modular which made it easy to transport and replicate.

The recycling bins will be set up in designated places like Loka’s offline store, balloon studios and some hotels. People can find their nearest recycling bin on the balloon recycling map on our website.

The recycling process is: Our partners like the balloon studios, hotels and our offline stores will recycle waste balloons from individual users. After that, we collect waste balloon from our partners directly and regularly. This makes recycling easier and tangible, and enables less costs to be spent on recycling transport.

How to raise awareness of recycling balloon?

We show the outcome of recycled balloons on recycling bins so that people can see the other face of production. Also, we will hold some workshops where people can experience weaving wasted balloons and make new creations out of it, finally it could raise awareness.