Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Food for Garbage

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

BARQUISIMETO, Feb 3 2003 (IPS) - – The “Garbage is not garbage” campaign for the collection and recycling of waste in exchange for food vouchers reaches the one-year mark this month, a success in this northwestern Venezuelan city. The municipal government distributes coupons for basic food items in exchange for recyclable waste, like glass, paper and aluminum.

Ten local parishes serve as collection centers every Saturday, working with the city's sanitation agencies. “In the first ten months of the program, we collected more than 1,200 tons of recyclable waste,” said Mayor Henry Falcón.