Plastic Cleanup Drive on World Mangrove Day 2023
26 July 2023
On 29 July 2023, our team was all smiles as the plastic collection drive, which was a crowd funded initiative, was a huge success. With the help of Bali island’s enthusiastic residents, we ended up collecting 220 kilos of plastic waste from the Sundarban Tiger Reserve. This is almost twice the quantity we had collected during the previous drive! All of this plastic will be recycled by the tech startup 𝗣𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴+ to manufacture pavement tiles, bricks, and other construction materials, all made from recycled plastic!
It was extremely heartening to find out that instead of incorrectly disposing of plastic as was the norm, locals had retained single-use plastic items and other plastic waste for us to eventually collect. Further, even the surroundings were comparatively cleaner as much of the littered plastic waste had already been picked up by village kids.
The proactive efforts of Sundarban’s community members have made us hopeful about the future of these mangroves forests. And none of this would have been possible without the support of all those who generously contributed to this cause.
Thank you for making a difference by enabling us to initiate this Participatory Conservation Program and ensuring that these green sentinels and carbon soaking cottons of our coasts continue to thrive for years to come.
We also want to thank the Forest Department, Sundarban Tiger Reserve and the Deputy Field Director Mr. Jones Justin (IFS) for supporting this cause.
