Citizens of many African countries recycle bottles for fuel, peanuts, or herbal medicine containers. In tropical environments plastic is highly valued. Because red is a preferred color in Ghana, red plastic items such as phonograph records, become beads for traditional jewelry. Citizens of Benin convert tire innertubes into buckets for use at wells. Rubber, unlike metal, does not dent or rust in rainforest environments.
Recycling is often a very selective process.
The foreign material must have a link to the local culture's sense of need, style, or world-view. The Masai of Kenya decorate snuffbox necklaces with mirrors. The mirror's glassy surface resembles water, a significant element in their universe. In the Sudan, girls of the nomadic Rashida people begin wearing veils at age five. They sew coins, buttons, silver pendants or threads on to the veil because this increases their beauty.