Museums of assets thrown away as waste opened in Moldovan capital

Chisinau, 21 December /MOLDPRES/ - Dozens of medals, icons, souvenirs from various countries and decorative objects from the Soviet period are exhibited at a museum of lost things, opened in Chisinau on 20 December. All exhibits were found while sorting waste collected in the capital.      

The museum was built from the scratch on the area of a plant of sorting the solid household waste of the ABS Recycling Company. The building’s walls are made of recycled glass – a material ensuring a high solidity to the construction. The museum’s launch was backed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Moldova and the Global Environment Facility, through the project, Moldova Sustainable Green Cities.     

About 200 objects were identified in all; they were cleaned properly, in order to become museum exhibits. ‘’The idea of launching this museum came, after we had seen that employees collect, during sorting, various objects which they use to decorate the walls of the room where they work. After a while, when we saw that their number is increasing, we ruled that we should create a space for other people interested to admire them as well. We were inspired also by the fact that there is a bookshop in Turkey, the stocks of which are supplied with books found among waste,’’ a representative of ABS recycling, Irina Balica, said.

The museum of lost things is an initiative of informing and raising awareness about the need of a proper management of waste. ‘’The museum has a double purpose. First of all, it is a place of refuge for the integral objects thrown away along with waste. At the same time, these exhibits represent an extra proof that not everything getting in dust bins is waste. I hope that, after visiting this museum, people will understand that they must be attentive in managing waste. Any object thrown away improperly pollutes the environment and influences our life,’’ a project manager at UNDP Moldova, Alexandru Rotaru said.

The museum’s exhibits will be put for sale, at a symbolic price, on an online platform. The initiative will allow organizers to renew the exhibition and the money collected will be used for maintaining the museum. The latter can be visited for free, with preliminary informing.

About 2,000 tons of waste is monthly brought to the ABS Recycling enterprise. The employees sort more types of plastic, paper, glass and metals for recycling.   

Photo: PNUD