
Farming Innovations in a Slum - wumi
http://www.afrigadget.com/2008/09/04/innovations-in-a-slum-kibera-case-study/
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gasull
Slightly related:

 _South Africa's Roundabout has devised a way to harness the energy generated
by kids playing (ingenious in itself), as they spin on an outdoor merry-go-
round_ <http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/000446.html>

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Protophore
Interesting story, but where does all of their non-organic waste go now that
the waste dump is gone? They probably just have to walk further to throw it
away somewhere else.

Does anyone have data on the economic feasibility of setting up plastic,
glass, etc recycling plants in 3rd world countries?

~~~
felipe
I don't have data, but from my own experience (I am Brazilian, living in the
US for 7 yrs) I can tell you that recycling is not very common simply because
people reuse a lot of stuff rather than recycling. The concept of reuse is
ingrained in the culture due to lack of money, and not only the poor, but the
middle-class do it a lot too. Some examples:

* Product plastic containers are washed and reused to store food, instead of throwing them away. Plastic containers are made sturdier (sometimes even made out of glass and with nice designs) because the companies know people will reuse them, so companies see it as a kind of free product advertisement.

* Soft drinks and beer are commonly sold in big glass bottles, which are then taken back to the distributor, washed, and then reused (not recycled, but reused).

* Electronics: Because labor is cheap and goods are expensive, people fix equipments instead of throwing them away. Parts are reused to the max, and there is an entire after-market ecosystem for them.

Last time I visited my family, it struck me how smaller my mom's trash can in
Brazil is compared to my trash can here in the US. It may sound like a dumb
comparison, but illustrates my point that we generate way more trash over here
(and I am actually pretty conscious about reusing stuff).

~~~
Protophore
Brazil isn't exactly a 3rd world country, but thank you for your input. A
great example or using our resources more effectively.

I asked about the feasibility of recycling plants because I can recall seeing
piles of trash (plastics, paper, cans, food, etc) in Indonesia all over the
place. Even right next to some of the local shrines. Locals may reuse/recycle
some items but it looked like most of their trash when into these piles that
were often burned at some point in time. The thick black smoke billowing off
of these smoldering trash heaps was disgusting and can't be great for the
peopl e or the environment.

