Thai craftsmanship "Uncle Add" Aged 76, he invented a strand extruder from used plastic bottles to produce round strands for a women's group weaving baskets and bags to earn income, winning both provincial and national awards.
On 14 March 2026 GMT+7, reporters visited a demonstration of a plastic bottle extruder at Ban Phandin Tham, Lat Buakhao Subdistrict, Sikhio District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, home of Mr. Kritsakorn Chatisri, known as Uncle Add, 76 years old. This plastic extruder is a new community innovation born from Uncle Add's wisdom and professional experience. He repurposes plastic bottles, whether water or soda bottles, adding value by converting them into plastic strands for diverse uses beyond making brooms, plant pots, or crafting flowers.
Mr. Kritsakorn, or Uncle Add, revealed that he already invents many items from leftover materials. Upon seeing a women's group crafting bags and weaving baskets from locally sourced materials, he got the idea to use plain empty plastic bottles, first flattening them into sheets, then making plastic strands to supply the women's group for basket weaving to sell, generating community income. It also helps elderly people at home stay active by tying items or weaving crafts for household use or sale, exercising muscles, improving concentration, and preventing Alzheimer's disease.
For the plastic extruder he built, he used cheap leftover materials like scrap metal and old bicycle wheels to assemble a plastic cutting and strand-extruding machine. Initially, plastic bottles are run through a cutting machine made with scrap metal bases and cutters to slice them into thin sheets, which are then rolled and stored to prevent strands from wrinkling or tangling.
Next, the rolls of thin plastic sheets undergo processing through the strand extruder. In this step, the thin plastic sheets pass through a hot air blower, which is a second-hand device repaired and repurposed to soften the plastic sheets by blowing hot air.
After heating, the plastic sheet ends are rolled and fed through steel holes of various drilled sizes to achieve the desired plastic strand thickness. Then, the plastic is slowly pulled through to allow heat to melt and bond it, rolling it into round strands as seen. The plastic strands are then tied and stored on rolls for easy use.
However, his inventions—the plastic cutting and strand-extruding machines—have already won provincial and national awards. This innovation, derived from wisdom in repurposing waste materials into useful products, is practical. The women's community group uses these strands as materials in weaving crafts, such as baskets and bags, and for general purposes.