((PKG)) UPCYCLED JEWELRY
((Banner: Upcycled Jewelry))
((Reporter/Camera: June Soh))
((Map: Hyattsville, Maryland))
((NATS))
((Jasmin Picariello, Founder, Project META))
This is the bottom of the milk jug. The milk bottles are very
good material for jewelry making. It offers two different
textures. So, we have, like, a more textured surface and
then we have a very smooth surface, and that allows to
create a lot of texture within the piece.
((Jasmin Picariello, Founder, Project META))
I have always been very attracted to just repurposing and
recycling in my daily life, just personally. I was just doing it
naturally, but then, when I learned about the amount of
waste that we had in the world, then I, sort of thinking that,
maybe, I should do more.
((NATS))
((Jasmin Picariello, Founder, Project META))
My name is Jasmin Picariello. I am the owner of the fashion
company Giulia Letzi and the founder of Project META.
((NATS))
((Jasmin Picariello, Founder, Project META))
META means destination in Italian. The new destination is,
literally, just not having our plastics in landfills and oceans,
but repurposing it and making other things that we are going
to use every day and for a longer period of time.
((NATS))
((Jasmin Picariello, Founder, Project META))
I moved to the US when I was 16. I am originally from Italy.
And ever since from 2011, my mother and I worked on
business together, first focusing on luxury Italian handmade
scarves, and then later on developing into upcycled jewelry
and accessories, which has eventually become the core of
Project META.
((Jasmin Picariello, Founder, Project META))
What really motivated me to start this project came from a
2017 study on plastic. What was discovered is that globally
in the world, we've produced 8.3 billion tons of plastic. And
of that number, unfortunately, only 12 percent is being
incinerated, only 9 percent is being recycled, which means
that nearly 79 percent is just in landfills and waters. And that
is a huge amount.
((NATS))
((Jasmin Picariello, Founder, Project META))
I am now shaping the aluminum, which I took from used
coffee pods. I get this design idea mainly from my love of
geometries and symmetries. The aluminum in the original
circular shape of the coffee pod really inspired me to keep
the spiral round motif.
((NATS))
((Jasmin Picariello, Founder, Project META))
These pieces are created with aluminum. This aluminum
comes from coffee pods and soda bottles.
((NATS))
((Jasmin Picariello, Founder, Project META))
This blue is actually the natural color of the bottle that I've
used.
((NATS))
((Jasmin Picariello, Founder, Project META))
When we first started, we were using plastic from our own
consumption or from our friends’ consumption, like,
anywhere that we can save some plastic, we would use it.
But now, I get my plastic and aluminum from grocery stores
and coffee shops from my neighborhood. We want to make
sure that this is an initiative that involves community and
local partners as much as possible.
((NATS))
((Drew Nixon, Vigilante Coffee))
We go through a lot of plastic bottles every week, and
instead of throwing them away, we're trying to make better
decisions with our recyclables by partnering with META, and
we feel this is a way to improve the planet one small step at
a time.
((NATS))
((Jasmin Picariello, Founder, Project META))
I am a true believer that we don't need just a handful of
people recycling and doing zero waste perfectly, but we
need a lot of people doing that even if imperfectly. And so,
with Project META, if we can even help, you know, the one
person a day contribute to this initiative and realize that their
changes and their actions daily will have an impact, then, I
think, we are heading in a good direction.
((NATS))
((Banner: Upcycled Jewelry))
((Reporter/Camera: June Soh))
((Map: Hyattsville, Maryland))
((NATS))
((Jasmin Picariello, Founder, Project META))
This is the bottom of the milk jug. The milk bottles are very
good material for jewelry making. It offers two different
textures. So, we have, like, a more textured surface and
then we have a very smooth surface, and that allows to
create a lot of texture within the piece.
((Jasmin Picariello, Founder, Project META))
I have always been very attracted to just repurposing and
recycling in my daily life, just personally. I was just doing it
naturally, but then, when I learned about the amount of
waste that we had in the world, then I, sort of thinking that,
maybe, I should do more.
((NATS))
((Jasmin Picariello, Founder, Project META))
My name is Jasmin Picariello. I am the owner of the fashion
company Giulia Letzi and the founder of Project META.
((NATS))
((Jasmin Picariello, Founder, Project META))
META means destination in Italian. The new destination is,
literally, just not having our plastics in landfills and oceans,
but repurposing it and making other things that we are going
to use every day and for a longer period of time.
((NATS))
((Jasmin Picariello, Founder, Project META))
I moved to the US when I was 16. I am originally from Italy.
And ever since from 2011, my mother and I worked on
business together, first focusing on luxury Italian handmade
scarves, and then later on developing into upcycled jewelry
and accessories, which has eventually become the core of
Project META.
((Jasmin Picariello, Founder, Project META))
What really motivated me to start this project came from a
2017 study on plastic. What was discovered is that globally
in the world, we've produced 8.3 billion tons of plastic. And
of that number, unfortunately, only 12 percent is being
incinerated, only 9 percent is being recycled, which means
that nearly 79 percent is just in landfills and waters. And that
is a huge amount.
((NATS))
((Jasmin Picariello, Founder, Project META))
I am now shaping the aluminum, which I took from used
coffee pods. I get this design idea mainly from my love of
geometries and symmetries. The aluminum in the original
circular shape of the coffee pod really inspired me to keep
the spiral round motif.
((NATS))
((Jasmin Picariello, Founder, Project META))
These pieces are created with aluminum. This aluminum
comes from coffee pods and soda bottles.
((NATS))
((Jasmin Picariello, Founder, Project META))
This blue is actually the natural color of the bottle that I've
used.
((NATS))
((Jasmin Picariello, Founder, Project META))
When we first started, we were using plastic from our own
consumption or from our friends’ consumption, like,
anywhere that we can save some plastic, we would use it.
But now, I get my plastic and aluminum from grocery stores
and coffee shops from my neighborhood. We want to make
sure that this is an initiative that involves community and
local partners as much as possible.
((NATS))
((Drew Nixon, Vigilante Coffee))
We go through a lot of plastic bottles every week, and
instead of throwing them away, we're trying to make better
decisions with our recyclables by partnering with META, and
we feel this is a way to improve the planet one small step at
a time.
((NATS))
((Jasmin Picariello, Founder, Project META))
I am a true believer that we don't need just a handful of
people recycling and doing zero waste perfectly, but we
need a lot of people doing that even if imperfectly. And so,
with Project META, if we can even help, you know, the one
person a day contribute to this initiative and realize that their
changes and their actions daily will have an impact, then, I
think, we are heading in a good direction.
((NATS))
