Filipino villagers swap trash for rice in fight against plastics

123rf

In a bid to fight plastic wastage, a village in the Philippines is offering its residents rice in exchange for their trash.

That's right. Residents of Bayanan can get one kilo of rice for every two kilos of plastic waste they deposit. The trash is then handed over to the government for proper disposal or recycling. 

In fact, the village collected more than 213 kg of plastic sachets, bottles and bags in August.

Village chief Andor San Pedro said the food-for-trash swap is teaching people how to properly dispose of plastic waste.

The Southeast Asian nation is among the world's top marine plastic polluters, studies show, with laws on solid waste poorly enforced.

 

More from International news

News

  • H.H. Sheikh Hamdan approves Umm Suqeim Beach master plan

    His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai has approved a AED500 million development plan to transform Umm Suqeim Beach into a major new public waterfront destination.

  • UAE FM condemns Israel’s repeated violations of ceasefire in Gaza

    The UAE's Foreign Minister joined with the Foreign Ministers of Türkiye, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, on Sunday, to strongly condemn Israel’s repeated violations of the ceasefire in Gaza which have resulted in the killing, and injuring of more than a thousand Palestinians.

  • UAE, World Food Programme sign deal to support Sudan aid efforts

    The United Arab Emirates has signed a cooperation agreement between the UAE Aid Agency and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to support humanitarian response efforts in Sudan.