KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 30 -- Repurposing trash is nothing new but what if you can elevate the pieces of trash into art?

That's exactly what residents of Kuala Lumpur's public housing project (PA) Seri Kota learnt recently from US eco-artist Kelsey Merreck Wagner in a "Trash Weaving Workshop" under Think City's Kita-untuk-Kita (K2K) programme.

In their neighbourhood surau located just a stone's throw away from the Bandar Tun Razak LRT train station, a group of about 16 women listened as Wagner explained how to use small tapestry looms to refashion unwanted scraps into woven art.

All that was needed was a wooden loom (or even a loom made from a flat piece of cardboard), strings, scissors, recycled materials cut into strips, and a comb to pus...