Alicia Chong
Image credit: Maria Eklind (via Flickr)
Plastic waste has become a world-wide problem, with over a million plastic bottles being purchased every minute and eight million tonnes of plastic being thrown into our oceans every year (UN), killing marine life and being eaten by fish that pass it on to us.
While Singapore has taken a step into reducing plastic waste by having 270 F&B outlets take part in the World Wide Fund initiative called Plastic Action (Pact), other countries like Rome are also seeking out even more innovative solutions to combat the issue.
How Rome is Encouraging Recycling at Its Metro
At three Metro stations in Rome, special machines have been set up to exchange plastic bottles for credits to take the metro. For taking part, commuters will get €0.05/ bottle off for their trip on both buses and trains, redeemable on myCicero and Tabnet apps. According to Lonely Planet, this is part of a new initiative called Ricicli+Viaggi (Recycle + Travel), and will be expanded after a 12 months successful trial period.
This comes at a time where Rome is suffering from a lack of waste disposal systems as one of their main landfills have been closed and the others damaged by fire recently. Their biological treatment sites have also reduced capacity to perform maintenance as reported by The Local.
Image credits: Francesco Borrelli
Your Plastic ‘Waste’ Can Cover Your Train Costs in Istanbul and Beijing Too
They have taken the idea from similar schemes that have been launched in Istanbul and Beijing, which gives credits in exchange for public transportation. Surabaya, Indonesia has a scheme where commuters can pay for bus rides with plastic bottles and plastic cups. Even supermarkets – which are typically a major consumer of plastic and culprit of plastic waste – are on board.
Image Credits: FantasticPlastics4
Vegetables are now being wrapped in banana leaves as an effort to reduce plastic waste in Vietnam with their three biggest supermarket chains Lotte Mart, Saigon Co-op and Big C taking part. They intend to expand the campaign to the rest of Vietnam soon. Lotte Mart also sells straws and food packaging made from sugarcane waste. Big C has introduced biodegradable bags made from corn powder, while banana wrapping is also used in Thailand.
Admittedly, Singapore is a little slower on its range of initiatives to encourage recycling and reduce plastic use – but you can too make an impact as a single individual. So, the next time you see you want to buy a bottle of water, remember to reduce, reuse and recycle!
