Wong Eng Geng

Photographer, Designer Researcher, Experience Designer, Writer, Adjunct Lecturer, 


A designer whose profound passion for photography informs his distinctive approach to research. A graduate of the National University of Singapore’s Division of Industrial Design, he leverages photography as a potent storytelling medium, capturing the essence of people and environments while seamlessly merging the worlds of photojournalism and design. 

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*This website is part of bluetaped.com, 
a print collective co-founded by Eng Geng. 

To purchase other work by him and friends, click here

project name

Refuse: A Dumpster Diving Craft Handbook
&
Karung Guni Chair


as featured in 
NUS DID Grad Show2023
Singapore Art Book Fair 2024
Milan Design Week 2025

 Refuse is a handbook that unveils the complex issue of furniture waste in Singapore, through thoughtful resources catered to the different needs of the dumpster diving and crafting community. Refuse aspires to be the 4th R of recycling - where the 4th R means “Refuse to buy, to throw and to do nothing”.

It is a care package jam packed with different ideas. Every image, word, clip-on and instruction in the book is derived from insights gathered while interviewing the dumpster diving and crafting community.
Currently, there is no proper recycling method for our 
disposed furniture.
Singapore has a rising issue with waste that is invisible to our eyes. Our waste gets cleared so efficiently that Singaporeans do not visually see how much waste we produce, and cannot visualise the impact of our actions. However, there is a type of waste that is too big to be hidden by the green bin. Our bulky refuse.


Bulky refuse is always placed near the green bin making it obvious that it is thrown away, but not close enough to make it dirty. It feels inviting for people to pick up. I want to explore the culture of dumpster diving and figure out where it sits in the ecosystem of waste disposal.​

In order to map out the ecosystem, I interviewed, shadowed and visited different profiles of individuals. I talked to profiles ranging from rag and bones man to freegans who dumpster dives for food.

The material value of disposed furniture is being overshadowed by their lack of monetary value
When it comes to bulky refuse, rag and bones dumpster divers do not look at them as furniture or appliances. Instead, they look at them as materials for sales (wood, metal, plastic, fabric, ceramics and paper). Whether they pick up those items are based on the monetary resale value.



Furniture is usually left untouched due to the difference in monetary value. Mainly made of wood, fabric and plastic, they are made from materials that even ‘karang guni’ do not want because the profitability is too low.

This key insight was the turning point of my project. I decided that my project will aim to shift the dumpster diving value of disposed furniture away from just monetary value, and instead, let the overlooked material value encourage the act of dumpster diving.

Galvanising the public into dumpster diving furniture for DIY crafting projects
Refuse is a magazine that unveils the complex issue of furniture waste in Singapore, through thoughtful resources catered to the different needs of the dumpster diving and crafting community. Refuse aspires to be the 4th R of recycling - where the 4th R means “Refuse to buy, to throw and to do nothing”.

It is a care package jam packed with different ideas. Every image, word, clip-on and instruction in the book is derived from insights gathered while interviewing the dumpster diving and crafting community.




In the magazine you can find, archival photographs of furniture waste, ideation toolkits for craft projects, dumpster diving guides, furniture harvesting instructions, material case studies, crafter’s showcase, expert interviews, suitability news, crafting tools recommendations and everything you will need to start dumpster diving and crafting.

But beyond theory, the book is also a call to action, time to walk the talk






How would a Karung Guni design a chair?

To bring these ideas to life, Eng Geng created the Karung Guni Chair — a functioning chair crafted entirely from materials found at the dumpster. No nails, no glue, no power tools. He limited himself to using only what a Karung Guni (rag-and-bone man) might carry: a pair of scissors and raffia string. 

This self-imposed constraint is key to the project: it proves that anybody, regardless of skillset or budget, can start crafting from trash.










Dumpster diving isn’t just a practice, it’s a deeply personal experience

You have to be at the right place at the right time to find something meaningful. It’s serendipitous. What you create becomes a 1-of-1 object, impossible to replicate, even with an unlimited budget. 

That connection between object and moment is what makes this kind of crafting so irreplaceable.


Refuse was published in Oct 2023.

Karung Guni Chair was made in Mar 2025.

The dumpster shall determine the next stage for Refuse.