Six tons of plastic waste exchanged for 3,000 saplings in Ashgabat

More than 6 tons of plastic waste was collected in Ashgabat over the past three months as part of a joint project of the Ministry of Agriculture of Turkmenistan, the Ministry of Environment and the United Nations Development Programme. The collected plastic became a kind of "currency" for the purchase and planting of 3,000 tree seedlings in the city. The plastic waste will be handled by private recycling companies, also participating in the project, financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

Within the framework of the project, 55 specialized containers for plastic waste collection were purchased last October. They were installed in various public and private institutions in Ashgabat. In particular, 8 of them were placed in the capital's hotels "Yildiz", "Senagatchi", "Vass" and "Nebitchi", 7 - on the territory of the construction company "Buig-Turkmen", 18 - in industrial areas of the city, 22 - in private and residential areas.

The next phase of the project will place containers to collect plastic in higher education institutions, schools, parks and public places. It is also planned to hold introductory lectures on waste management, which, in turn, will help in the collection of glass bottles, waste paper and food waste.