Online platform encourages alternative to throwaway culture
Mexico City’s 21 million residents produce nearly two kilograms of rubbish each per day, that’s a lot of trash for one of the world’s busiest cities. Named “Recycle, Reduce & Share”, the online platform is seeking to encourage people from across three Mexican cities to offer their unwanted belongings to others who might find them useful, rather than indulge the throwaway culture that has caused disposal problems for the capital.
It was founded by Alberto Herrera, who told CGTN America the philosophy behind his idea.
“In a world where consumerism has taught us to look only at the price of things, we have forgotten their value in terms of their usefulness”, he said, “the philosophy behind the platform is that rather than to accumulate, it is more sustainable to circulate.”
Alasdair’s baseball catcher’s helmet found a taker, and our reporter met with Fabian Recillas, who is a member of a self-funded baseball team.
He told CGTN that the helmet was a piece of specialist equipment, and hard to come by in Mexico, so that in receiving it, the helmet would go to weekly use in the team’s games, rather than sitting in a dusty closet unused.
The Recycle, Reduce & Share movement is growing across Mexico, with more people signing up every week, new projects opening in other cities and a dedicated app being developed, it’s sure to expand.