Filipino Village Exchanges Garbage for Rice to Fight Plastic

Local rice varieties are pictured at a food market in Manila, Philippines. Reuters Photo/Erik De Castro
Local rice varieties are pictured at a food market in Manila, Philippines. Reuters Photo/Erik De Castro
TT
20

Filipino Village Exchanges Garbage for Rice to Fight Plastic

Local rice varieties are pictured at a food market in Manila, Philippines. Reuters Photo/Erik De Castro
Local rice varieties are pictured at a food market in Manila, Philippines. Reuters Photo/Erik De Castro

A village in the Philippines is trying to tackle the scourge of plastic waste by offering rice to residents in exchange for their trash.

According to Reuters, residents of Bayanan outside the capital, Manila, can get one kg of rice, the staple food for Filipinos, for every two kg of plastic waste, which are handed over to the government for proper disposal or recycling.

Veronica Dolorico, a 49-year-old supporter of the program, told Reuters: "I weighed in at 14 kilos of residuals, so I got 7 kilos of rice grains. This is a big help for us to have one kilo of rice for the day. I feel that our surroundings are really dirty. If only I could, I would pick up all the plastics along the road when I walk outside."

One kg of rice costs about 30-40 pesos ($0.70), which is costly in a country with a fast-growing economy, but high rates of urban and rural poverty. One-fifth of the population (107 million people) lives below the national poverty line, with monthly consumption of less than $241 per person.

Bayanan collected more than 213 kg of sachets, bottles and plastic bags in August, said village Chief Andor San Pedro, adding the food-for-trash swap is teaching people how to properly dispose of their waste.



An Uncontrolled Wildfire Sends a Cloud of Smoke over Spain’s Capital

 A firefighting plane drops water during efforts to extinguish a wildfire near Navalcarnero, on the outskirts of Madrid, Spain, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (A. Pérez Meca/Europa Press via AP)
A firefighting plane drops water during efforts to extinguish a wildfire near Navalcarnero, on the outskirts of Madrid, Spain, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (A. Pérez Meca/Europa Press via AP)
TT
20

An Uncontrolled Wildfire Sends a Cloud of Smoke over Spain’s Capital

 A firefighting plane drops water during efforts to extinguish a wildfire near Navalcarnero, on the outskirts of Madrid, Spain, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (A. Pérez Meca/Europa Press via AP)
A firefighting plane drops water during efforts to extinguish a wildfire near Navalcarnero, on the outskirts of Madrid, Spain, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (A. Pérez Meca/Europa Press via AP)

An uncontrolled wildfire burned outside Madrid on Thursday, sending a giant cloud of smoke over the Spanish capital.

The fire broke out in the town of Mentrida in central Spain's Castile-La Mancha region about 50 kilometers (30 miles) southwest of the capital. Local authorities urged residents to stay home and close their windows.

Spanish authorities said the blaze had burned around 3,000 hectares (roughly 7,400 acres) by the late evening.

Firefighters deployed on the ground and in the air were working to extinguish the fire that began around 3 pm.

Wind blew the smoke over Madrid, where in the afternoon skies turned orange and thick with smoke.

Large parts of Spain are under heat and fire warnings, with temperatures on Thursday reaching 37 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) in Madrid.

Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing at twice the speed as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, which makes places more vulnerable to wildfires.