Buying rice? Pay it with plastic

Village officials weigh plastic discards being traded for rice in District 2, Cauayan City. PHOTO BY VILLAMOR VISAYA JR

CAUAYAN CITY, Isabela—At a village here, plastics have become legal tender for one of the most basic commodities in every Filipino household—rice.

Residents of the village called Disrrict 2 have been turning over all sorts of plastic discards—bags, bottles and wrappers—under a waste segregation project that rewards the villagers with rice.

“Our program has been very effective,” said Paolo Eleazar Delmendo, village captain.

There would be no shortage of plastic wastes as the village, according to Delmendo, “is surrounded by business establishments.”

The people have learned to segregate plastics from their garbage after realizing that it pays, Delmendo said.

“Aside from that, poor-but-industrious villagers who need rice have nothing to worry about,” he added.

Two kilograms of plastic bottles or 3 kg of assorted plastic bags can be traded for 1 kg of rice at a booth in front of the village hal, Delmendo said. VILLAMOR VISAYA JR (Editor: Tony Bergonia)