Environmentalists at a swimming pool in the Philippines have found a new way to clean up the country’s beaches: offering a donation to exchange a bag of rice for every bag of trash that the community collects. collect.
Mabini, in Batangas province, is known for its bright corals and marine diversity, but rising levels of plastic pollution pose an increasing threat to marine animals such as sea turtles, which said volunteer Giulio Endaya. They are known to eat plastic straws and bags, and fish eat microplastics washed ashore, Endaya said.
But since the rice-for-waste program began nearly two years ago, more than 4.3 tons of plastic waste has been collected, he added. In turn, rice was distributed 2.6. Rice is distributed in 1kg bags – enough to meet a family’s daily needs. Donors and small businesses help support the program, which also helps low-income families reduce their food bills following the rise in rice prices in recent years. .
In a month I needed four and a half bags of rice, now I only have to buy two, which is a big help, said Janeth Acevedo, 46 years old, in the arrangement of the grass she collected. The Philippines is the largest contributor to plastic waste in the oceans, accounting for 36% of the global total, according to an April 2022 updated report from our Global Project and data from the University of Oxford.
