While plastic pollution is a ubiquitous global challenge its impact is significant in poor slum neighborhoods and communities that have precarious water supply and are located near landfills. Only 16% of plastics are recycled, while the rest ends up in landfills, incinerators, or as litter. Much of this plastic eventually finds its way into rivers and oceans. Notably, plastic releases greenhouse gases during its gradual breakdown. Sunlight and heat cause it to emit methane and ethylene, contributing to the climate crisis. In addition, landfills, where single-use plastics often end up, emit significant amounts of methane. This potent greenhouse gas contributes to global warming. As plastic waste accumulates, so do landfill emissions.
The Trash-to-Treasure program seeks to strengthen the community by teaching residents how to reuse waste plastic and transform it into items they can use or sell.
Through this program we seek to achieve 3 more specific goals:
Malaria prevention: By teaching people how to make their own mosquito nets/sheets out of used plastic bags, we aim to reduce the incidence of malaria.
Income Generation: Provide an income opportunity for people by using disposed plastic bags to make usable products that can be resold for profit.
Waste Reduction: This project empowers participants to explore and implement safe methods for the collection and cleaning of waste plastic bags.
This simple project can achieve multiple objectives: job creation, teaching income-generating skills, providing an opportunity to make useful items out of widely available materials.
The project provides the added benefit of cleaning up the environment as trash is collected and recycled and thus helping to prevent malaria.