Soy sauce refills and reused jars: can Philippines’ tingi culture hold back deluge of plastic waste?
In the Philippines, a local initiative called 'Tingi Tindahan' is attempting to combat plastic waste by reviving the traditional 'tingi' culture of refilling containers. This model seeks to replace the widespread use of single-use plastic sachets that contribute significantly to the country's pollution crisis.
Why it matters
The story addresses the intersection of traditional cultural practices and modern environmental sustainability efforts in developing nations.
Boys push a cart to transport a woman along a flooded road amid monsoon rains in Malabon City. Every typhoon season the city is awash in rubbish. A zero-waste shop set up by a district council provides plastic-free products at affordable prices in a country that gets through 164m sachets a day
Prefer the Guardian on Google J ust after classes finish for the day in Malabon City, in the Philippines , a corner shop begins to fill. Mothers arrive with their children, handing over empty bottles to be refilled with soy sauce and cooking oil. Plastic tubs that previously held ice-cream or biscuits are weighed and filled with flour or sugar. The kids get some sweets and banana chips bagged in brown kraft paper.
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