A second life for plastic
Vietnam is the 8th biggest plastic polluter in the world, dumping over 30,000 tonnes of waste into the ocean.
South-East Asia is hit by increasingly extreme droughts, storms and floods, but also by progressive alterations: rising salinity in the soil, coastal erosion, rising sea levels, weakening of the ecosystem.
Mekong Plus aims to limit the environmental and socio-economic effects of these upheavals: waste sorting & recycling, good farming practices, tree planting, etc.
schools against plastic
Mekong Plus raises villagers’ awareness of the damage caused by plastic: they are very sensitive to the impact on their health.
Teachers are trained on the issue, and pupils with gloves and tongs collect waste around the schools. This is then recycled, in particular to make school furniture. Better and cheaper!
Schools that collect the most waste are rewarded: they receive more school grants for the poorest children.
eco-friendly homes
Mekong Plus offers a unique solution: waste is recycled in the form of panels, which are then used in construction. A small house “absorbs” 1 tonne of waste. Construction costs are cut by 20%, and the houses are cooler and quieter.
Mekong Plus gives a bonus of €700/house to villagers who use these panels.
Mekong Plus is studying the possibility, with several technical partners, of using the pyrolysis technique (combustion without oxygen) which transforms plastic waste into energy: oil, diesel, gas.
tree planting
We help schools and, in Cambodia, pagodas to plant as many trees as possible. We supply the seedlings, the villagers plant them, supply the bamboo to protect them, and water and protect the trees.
The challenge is to plant on public land: how do you protect the seedlings from animals? Some farmers don’t like us to shade their crops, they say, as this would increase the number of insects. We try to encourage villagers with small bonuses after 6 and 12 months, depending on the number of surviving plants.
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Mekong Plus guarantees transparency and efficiency. With news from the field, you get regular updates. Schoolchildren say thank you, because they were in danger of dropping out of school.
Tens of thousands of villagers also contribute to the solidarity fund!
A single mother finally gets by with a “pig bank”!
Schoolchildren collect plastic waste and we make cheaper, stronger benches for the school.