USAID MWRP Video Update: Lanka Upcycles, Sri Lanka

USAID grantee Lanka Upcycles implements the Waste Less Arugam Bay project on the east coast of Sri Lanka. In this high tourism area, burning plastic bottles or dumping them along the coastline is a common way to manage the high volumes of plastic waste that are generated daily. To address this challenge, Lanka Upcycles 1) works with tourism businesses to segregate PET plastics at the source, 2) engages with tourists to make them part of the solution, and 3) runs programs for school-age children to help them make informed decisions about plastic usage. The products that Lanka Upcycles creates through its recycling and processing centers were recently verified as Fair Trade by the World Fair Trade Organization.  Lanka Upcycles also partners with an organization called Waste Less India to share solid waste management strategies and collaborate on a data pool that is used to inform policy decisions. 

This update, provided by Hendrik Konzok, Co-Founder of Lanka Upcycles, covers key successes of the Waste Less Arugam Bay program in the last six months.