A new plastics collection programme recently launched in Dagupan City, located in the northwest of The Philippines, aims to kill two birds with one stone, addressing both serious malnutrition and a growing garbage problem. According to a report by the Philippine Information Agency (www.pia.gov.ph), the “Bigas Para Plastic” programme encourages residents to separate and collect their plastic garbage, which they can then exchange for rice of equivalent weight.

The plastic scraps collected in this matter are to be treated in a reforming facility where most of them will be converted into briquettes used to kindle fire. Several residents are reportedly undergoing training to manage the facility. Environmental activists supporting the project hope it will eventually be implemented across all communities in northern Luzon.