Philippine diving town swaps trash for rice to clean up its beaches

MABINI, Philippines – Green campaigners in a diving resort in the Philippines have come up with a novel way to clean up the town’s shores – offering to swap a bag of rice for every sack of trash gathered by local residents.

Mabini in Batangas province is known for its vibrant corals and marine biodiversity, but a rising tide of plastic pollution poses an increasing threat to marine animals such as sea turtles, said volunteer Giulio Endaya.

“They’ve been known to eat straws and plastic bags...