TONTOTON opens a plastic collection center in Cambodia and allows the local community to take charge of their clean environment while earning extra income. The integration of vulnerable coastal communities in cleanup activities creates a complete environmental and social cycle of preventing, collecting, and treating plastic waste.
(Sihanoukville, Cambodia)
When it comes to plastic waste, if there is no one to collect it or any means to stop it, this is the reality that vulnerable coastal communities have to live in; and this is a reality that TONTOTON wants to change through a certified plastic credit system.
TONTOTON opens its first ‘Community & Environment Plastic collection center in Sihavoukville, Cabodia as [art of a greater plan to open more centers strategically located in the port city.
The program helps significantly reduce plastic pollution and prevents plastic from entering the ocean while supporting the local community. The integration of the coastal communities in collecting non-recyclable plastic waste is supported by educational campaigns for a cleaner environment and personal responsibility.
“The center allows the community to take responsibility for their environment and a means to change the situation. For example, the fishermen enter bays full of plastic, and all the commercial and residential areas are polluted; their children live like this. The financial incentive and supportive logistics that TONTOTON provides can be a game-changer for them and the environment.” says Barak Ekshtein, Founder and CEO of TONTOTON.
Low-value plastic wastes are the black sheep against an efficient waste management system. They are notoriously mismanaged, unsorted, and uncollected; thus, they have no value in the commodity market and are typically abandoned in the natural environment.
The collected material is used as alternative energy to coal and raw material via co-processing in cement factories, effectively reducing C02 emissions. In addition, the plastic wastes are destroyed into ashes that blend into the final cement product, creating zero waste.
