Money from Trash ::
...is a ten year old initiative of several women-owned Cooperatives in the Philippines
...separates garbage at the source - thousands of households, businesses and schools participate
...recycles, re-uses and composts all collected garbage
...raises community environmental awareness
...provides living-wage jobs for Co-Op members
...funds a community clinic for basic health care for young and old
...seeds women-owned small businesses with micro loans
...empowers women to make a difference for their families and their community
...enables us to make our best-selling urban bike bags in a compelling choice of recycled materials
Money from Trash is a grassroots effort of several unique, women-owned and operated co-operatives in the Philippines. Check out our video.
These co-ops address the needs of their communities by providing a self-help program to clean up and recycle trash to generate well-paying jobs for their members. Money from co-op enterprises is used to fund important community programs such as free health clinics and micro loans to small, women-owned local businesses. Virtually all households, businesses and schools within the community participate in the recycling effort. Refuse is separated into recyclables, re-usables and bio-degradable/compostable materials at the source and collected weekly. Recycling and composting generate income for residents and the community at large, as well as connect people to their environment in an immediate and positive way. Some of the trash, such as the ever-present juice packs, is recycled into new products by co-op members and then sold locally and around the world. The soft polyethylene juice packs are one of the most common drink packaging found in the Philippines. Mountains of these juice packs are collected at schools and shopping malls, washed, sorted by color and size and then transformed into a wide array of innovative, fun and colorful end products, like some of our bike bags. Your purchase of one of our bags using recycled juice packs empowers the women who run these co-operatives to provide a healthy, clean environment for their communities, for their children and for our planet. Do your part to recycle, re-use and reduce - get some trash culture for your ride! Click here for more info on trash culture. |
