- Title: Philippine town cleans up beach in exchange for rice
- Date: 3rd July 2024
- Summary: MABINI, BATANGAS PROVINCE, PHILIPPINES (JUNE 15, 2024) (REUTERS) (MUTE) DRONE FOOTAGE OF MABINI TOWN (MUTE) VARIOUS DRONE FOOTAGE OF CLEAN-UP DRIVE ON BEACH LITTER ON THE BEACH, BOAT PASSING BY IN BACKGROUND VARIOUS OF VOLUNTEERS PICKING UP LITTER AT THE BEACH VOLUNTEERS PICKING UP LITTER AND PLACING IT INTO SACKS VOLUNTEER'S HANDS PICKING UP PLASTIC TRASH USED PLASTIC BOTTLES, SACHETS, EMPTY BAG OF CHIPS LYING ON THE BEACH VOLUNTEERS COLLECTING TRASH ALONG THE BEACH (SOUNDBITE) (English) ORGANISER, GIULIO ENDAYA, SAYING: "This area is part of the Coral Triangle, it's called the Verde Island Passage and it has the highest biodiversity in the world. So we have a lot of marine protected areas here, world-class dive sites, and recently an ISRA site, Important Shark and Ray Area, so we have a lot of critically endangered and vulnerable marine wildlife here in this area. The plastic can affect them a lot, they can get entangled, so I've seen sea turtles entangled in nets and other types of plastics. They've been known to eat straws and plastic bags, and the fish also eat microplastics that have been, you know, broken down in the shore. And recently, we've been finding more and more microplastics even in fish that we eat, so it's also harmful to us."
- Embargoed: 17th July 2024 02:00
- Keywords: Batangas Coral Triangle Mabini Philippines clean up coral reefs marine pollution ocean pollution plastic bags plastic pollution plastic waste pollution rice waste waste management
- Location: MABINI, BATANGAS PROVINCE, PHILIPPINES
- City: MABINI, BATANGAS PROVINCE, PHILIPPINES
- Country: Philippines
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Pollution,Environment
- Reuters ID: LVA001201619062024RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Volunteers in a town near the Philippine capital Manila have come up with a unique way to educate local residents about the importance of environmental protection - by exchanging plastic trash for rice.
Spearheaded by Giulio Endaya and his group of volunteers, the “Plastic Palit Bigas”, or "plastic in exchange for rice" program, involves residents of the town of Mabini exchanging sacks of litter collected from their beach - regardless of their weight - for a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of rice.
The project is funded by donations from private individuals and small companies that advocate for marine conservation, according to Endaya.
Mabini is a popular scuba diving destination located within the Coral Triangle, a global centre of marine biodiversity that encompasses six countries, including the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. The area has seen an increase in the amount of trash washing up along its shores each year, Endaya said.
“I’ve seen sea turtles entangled in nets and other types of plastics... And recently we've been finding more and more microplastics even in fish that we eat so it's also harmful to us,” he said.
According to Endaya, since clean-up efforts began in October 2022, more than 4,300 kilograms (9,480 pounds) of garbage have been collected and exchanged for a total of 2,600 kilograms (5,732 pounds) of rice.
The program has been a "huge help" to some residents like 46-year-old Janeth Acevedo, who are having to cope with the increasing costs of basic goods like rice.
“In a month I need four and a half sacks of rice, now all I have to buy is two sacks which is a big help in saving money,” she said while sorting trash during a clean up drive.
The Philippines is the planet’s worst polluter when it comes to releasing plastic waste into the ocean, accounting for 36% of the total input globally, according to an updated April 2022 report by the Our World in Data project at the University of Oxford.
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