Australian Entrepreneur Hailed for Cleaning Philippines' Trash-Strewn River €“ but Will It Last?

"People used to go swimming in it, and then how grateful [they] are for the work that we're doing in conjunction with the government and other organizations," Mike Smith tells This Week in Asia.

Smith is the Australian founder of Zero Co, a company that makes plastic-free products, and he spent six weeks in the Philippines in 2023 looking for the country's most polluted water systems.

He found the Taguig-Pateros River south of Manila to be particularly polluted, and he organized a team of more than 250 environmental rangers and volunteers to clean it up, Australia's News Network reports.

"That was a light bulb moment," Smith says.

"If we want to have the biggest possible impact on this problem, then let's go to the source of the problem."

According to the Philippines' Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the country is the third-largest source of ocean waste in the world.

Philippines discards an estimated 3.3 kilograms of plastic waste per person into the ocean, with more than 4,800 rivers emitting more than 350,000 metric tons of non-degradable litter.

"People used to go swimming in it, and then how grateful [they] are for the work that we're doing in conjunction with the government and Read the Entire Article


Selected Grant News Headlines

A customized collection of grant news from foundations and the federal government from around the Web.

New Inclusive Creative Economy Strategy to Demonstrate That the U.S. Creative ...
Foundation: Marguerite Casey Foundation, Marguerite Casey Foundation, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Skoll Foundation, Target Foundation, Ford Foundation, Philadelphia Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation

"The US creative economy was most recently valued at over $1 trillion by the National Endowment for the Arts," per a press release, "even before considering film, fashion, video games, beauty, food,...more

Community Foundation Celebrates 100 Years of Local Impact by Looking Ahead ...
Foundation: Lancaster County Community Foundation

In 2024, Lancaster County, Pa., will celebrate the 100th anniversary of a group of "visionaries" who "came together to shape a better future for Lancaster County," says Sam Bressi, president and CEO...more

Pennsylvania'S Creative Sector Booms, Contributing Over $30 Billion to State Economy

"These figures underscore the vital role that creativity and culture play not only in enriching community life but also in driving economic development." So says the chair of Pennsylvania's...more

Golfers Support Swings Fore Strings to Raise Money for Student Music Program

If you're looking for a good time while raising money for a good cause, try golf. The Salvation Army in Virginia Beach held its annual " Swings Fore Strings" fundraiser on Saturday, hoping to...more

Self-Love Comes At A Cost: Zainab Patel, Entrepreneur &Amp; Trans Activist

"Many of us, at some point in time, have been told in our lives that we are unloveable. By our parents, partners, husbands, children, friends, or society," says transgender activist Zainab...more

Grant Funding to Bolster Operations at 17 Southern Indiana Nonprofits
Foundation: Community Foundation of Southern Indiana

"When you see the kids interacting and them building communitythat's what it is," says Camp Quality Kentuckiana executive director Eddie Bobbitt. "It's bigger than fishing and pie fights." The...more

Madison Visionary Partners Awards 5 Community Impact Grants

The Alzheimer's Association's Forget-Me-Not program has a new toy in its arsenal: fidget blankets. The Madison Hospital in Alabama has received a $2,500 grant from the Huntsville Hospital...more

Maui Adult Day Care Centers: Caring and Trusted Resources for Maui'S Family Caregivers and Kupuna
Foundation: Hawaii Community Foundation

If you're in your 60s or older and looking for adult day care in Maui, you're in luck. The nonprofit Maui Adult Day Care Centers lost its West Maui Center in the Lahaina fire last August, but...more

U.C. Berkeley Ai Alumnus Extends Invitation to Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg to ...

Peter Kessler graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a degree in chemical engineering, and now he's working on an AI invention that "stands on the brink of the educational...more

How This Big Arts Show Across 18 U.S. Locations Can Help Health
Foundation: Kresge Foundation, Tow Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies

"There's no real reason why the arts, health, and science shouldn't be much more highly integrated," says Lear deBessonet, a Tony-nominated theater director and co-director of the One Nation One...more





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