The Plastic Flamingos collect waste from the waters of the Manila River to transform it into "eco-timber" useful for construction.
A company in the Philippines is trying to alleviate the escalating plastic waste crisis by turning bottles, disposable sachets and wrappers into building materials.
Every morning in Manila, a hundred people rake piles of trash on the banks of the Pasig, one of the most polluted rivers in the world, filling whole bags to clean up a stream that is also a major source of ocean plastic.
The "Plastic Flamingo", or "The Plaf" as they call themselves, have been working for ten years to eliminate excess garbage. They collect the waste, shred it and then shape it into poles and planks called “eco-timber”, which can be used for fences, terraces or even to build rescue shelters for victims of environmental disasters.
©REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
Most of the material collected consists of plastic bags, disposable sachets and packaging materials. Since the beginning of the pandemic, surgical masks have been added to this pile of garbage.
The "eco-wood" used in construction is 100% recycled material. Having collected more than 100 tons of plastic waste to date, the social enterprise is doing its part to address a local problem that has global ramifications.
People don't know how to dispose of these plastics, they can give them to recycling centers like us, who turn them into useful products.
said Allison Tan, marketing officer for “The Plaf”.
In addition to addressing waste problems, the group says it is in talks with other non-governmental organizations to help rebuild typhoon-destroyed homes using its sustainable building materials.
©REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
Pasig trash isn't just a Filipino problem. A 2021 report by Our World in Data from the University of Oxford estimates that 81% of global ocean plastic comes from Asian rivers; the Philippines alone account for a third of the total.
However, plastic is not a purely Asian problem. According to the United Nations Environment Program, approximately 300 million tons of plastic waste is produced each year, a problem that was aggravated during the pandemic.
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