abastan creative recycling

Luv Toprak, directed by Aleksandra Koroleva, and Plastic Bakery, led by Andrei Strizhkov, are Abastan initiatives dedicated to creative recycling and sustainable design. It originated in the winter of 2022 when having visited a landfill near Tumanyan Aleksandra began to think of ways to raise awareness about the problem of plastic waste and help minimize waste produced by the community. This led to an exploration of plastic recycling as both an artistic medium of communication and a practical solution to reducing waste.

Aleksandra, an artist working across various materials, began to experiment with fusing used plastic bags to create a new, durable material. The early projects of her newly launched workshop, Luv Toprak, included artist sketchbook covers and other functional objects such as wallets, bags, and pencil cases. In 2023, Andrei joined the initiative, expanding its scope by developing a press, oven, molds, and a manual extruder for working with HDPE and LDPE plastics. This marked the official start of Plastic Bakery. Together, Aleksandra and Andrei began refining their recycling techniques, experimenting with melting plastic bags in an oven and using a press to create solid sheets suitable for crafting a variety of objects. Recognizing that while Armenia recycles some hard plastics, plastic bags largely remain unaddressed, they focused their efforts on repurposing this particularly problematic material.

Plastic Bakery operates with a combination of modified and self-built equipment, including an electric furnace, a hydraulic press, and a custom hand extruder designed and built by Andrei. This extruder allows individual plastic components to be fused without glue or metal fasteners, making the resulting objects fully recyclable. Additionally, the workshop features a small CNC milling machine for precise fabrication.

Together Luv Toprak and Plastic Bakery draw attention to pollution and overconsumption through art and design, demonstrating that recyclable materials are not waste but valuable resources. The contrast between the natural beauty of Tumanyan’s landscape and the environmental impact of modern waste serves as a poignant backdrop to their work. They also demonstrate that initiatives such as theirs can operate on a small scale, locally, without all the amenities of big-city life.
As they continue to refine their recycling techniques, share their knowledge with the community, and host open workshops in Tumanyan, Luv Toprak and Plastic Bakery need support. Here are some ways to help: