Precious Plastic

Those articles (Article 1/Article 2) describe a new entrepreneurial approach on global waste management and a possible form of foreign aid that simultaneously creates new jobs locally. The article claims that “There are about 40 million waste pickers around the world” and that “Recycling plastic bottles into filament helps waste pickers increase their incomes by as much as 20 times.” However, the fact that the advanced technology used (the 3D printers) is built and sold by companies in developed countries remains. Nevertheless, it could be seen as an example of a new approach on foreign aid, one that is more diffcult to abuse for local authorities, tries to create local jobs and to solve urgent environmental problems.

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