Parley Maldives announces thirteen pick-up points for school kids and public citizens, to dispose of their plastic waste for recycling purposes.
Of the thirteen pick-up points, 12 are located within schools and can be used only via a school student. However, in households where there are no school-going students, public citizens wishing to dispose of their plastic waste for recycling may use the Go-Down collection point at Maaveyomagu.
Parley for the Oceans has been working in the Maldives for over two years trying to intercept plastic going into the ocean.
According to Shaahina Ali, Executive Director of Parley Maldives, "Our main goal is to focus on behavioural change while intercepting the waste."
"We decided that schools would be the best place to start, so that we can teach children to segregate waste, at least their plastic waste".
Ghiyasuddin was the first school where the collection facilities were initiated, however, the organization now counts 53 schools in Parley Ocean Plastic Program - including Male and islands. Parley also maintains a log of all plastics received, collating how much each school saves.
Each school has a different way of running the program, some schools dedicate one day within the week as 'drop off plastics day', whereas others may track and recognise ten outstanding students consistently collecting and delivering plastics to school. Other schools host competitions amongst the school houses to encourage students to bring as much plastic waste as possible for recycling.
Each participating school that consistently collects plastic waste from its students for one year is then presented with a Parley A.I.R certification plaque.
Currently, schools that have collected and presented Parley with the largest amounts of plastic waste are Ghiyasuddin International School, V. Fulidhoo School, M. Dhiggaru School, V. Keyodhoo School, M. Mulah School, Thaajuddeen School, Rehendhi School in Hulhumale, Ha .Kelaa School and Imaduddin School.
From 2017 to date, a total of 15 tonnes of plastic have been intercepted by the participating schools.
Parley also receives plastic from 19 households that regularly collect and deliver single-use plastics including water bottles, soft drink bottles, shampoo bottles, softener, washing liquid, lotion bottles etc. The plastic waste is collected using Parley-issued mesh bags and dropped off once or twice a week at the Maafannu based Go Down.
Different NGOs and other private groups that organize cleanups also segregate their plastic waste using Parley mesh bags and drop off their collections to the Go Down.
"A lot of people ask us how to hand over plastic," said Shaahina. "With this initiative, we hope to encourage kids as well as parents, to segregate their waste and move towards proper recycling."
Parley hopes to begin this vital discourse between young children and their parents, influencing hearts and minds and hearts towards a positive change for the community as a whole.
Once the plastic waste has been deposited to the pick-up points, Parley can collect in bulk as the bags fill up and send to their recycling plants where it will be recycled and repurposed in creative and useful ways such as for the production of Adidas jerseys, shoes as well as with other brands and products.
Parley for the Oceans is also endorsed by the Ministry of Education and is a participant of the Farukoe program, which encourages children to familiarise themselves with the ocean and underwater world, to learn its importance and to "fall in love with it".
Parley's role in the program comes primarily in the form of delivering awareness sessions to students about not polluting the sea and reducing their use of single-use plastics and other materials harmful to the ocean.
Parley for the Oceans is an international community of pro-ocean, pro-planet believers seeking to address major threats towards our oceans, the most important ecosystem of our planet. The organization believes in finding ways to synchronize the economic system of humankind with the ecosystem of nature, and making environmental protection fiscally lucrative for pacesetting major companies.
Its global initiatives include a global cleanup network, ghost net retrieval, recycling ocean plastic materials, reinventing plastic, an open-source citizen science platform called ocean sentinels, microplastic research, clean waves project, parley ocean school and AIR implementation.
Parley's wish is to ensure humans are fast enough to meet the ultimate deadline and turn the ship around before all inhabitants of planet Earth lose a treasure we have only just started to explore and still don’t fully understand: the fantastic blue universe beneath us — The Oceans.
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