You've heard about sweeping problems under the rug. Well, how about converting the problem into a broom instead?
One Cambodian entrepreneur is doing just that. In a mission to help tackle plastic pollution in his country's capital city of Phnom Penh, 41-year-old Has Kea has started an upcycling business. In 11 months, his workers turned about 44 tons of plastic bottles into heavy-duty brooms.
According to Phnom Penh's environmental department, as reported by Reuters, the city produces up to around 8,400 tons of single-use plastic every day, which ends up in landfills and waterways.
Kea's business upcycles about 5,000 plastic bottles per day. His team first spins the bottles into strips, which become bristles for the brooms. The plastic strips are collected into a bundle on a machine and softened using hot water before being sewn into the ends of a bamboo stick.
Kea buys the bottles from trash collectors and garbage depots.
"This broom is quite solid, not easy to break," Suon Kosal, a Buddhist monk whose temple bought 80 of the brooms in January, told Reuters.
Cambodia is by no means the only place suffering from out-of-control plastic pollution. Globally, we produce around 440 million tons of plastic waste each year, according to the United Nations Environment Programme.
Discarded plastics plague our land and sea, endangering wildlife and human health — millions of animals are killed by plastics every year, and broken-down "microplastics" can lead to serious health effects, including cancer in humans.
They also contribute to the overheating of our planet — about 98% of single-use plastic products are produced from fossil fuels or "virgin feedstock," UNEP reported.
Luckily, some governments are starting to develop more sound environmental policies regarding plastics. For instance, England and France ban plastic cutlery for most fast-food and takeout meals. And in 2022, India banned a selection of single-use plastics.
You can help make a difference by limiting your consumption of single-use plastics and opting for reusable items instead. When you must use plastics, make sure to recycle whenever possible.
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