KUYA is a start-up project born from eight multidisciplinary founders in Madrid and Donostia: turning the plastic waste that floods the island of Biliran (Philippines) into locally made products.

Plastic is one of the most valuable and most wasted materials on the planet: since the 1950s only around 9% of it has ever been recycled, and between 5 and 13 million tonnes end up in the sea every year. In coastal communities like Biliran, that waste is everywhere — and so is the opportunity.

KUYA’s proposal: a local collection network, small-scale recycling and transformation workshops, and a product line that gives the material a second, longer life — creating local jobs along the way. The project connects directly with the UPM cooperation field work on the island.