Biggest Recycling Village in the World

Project Wings tackles three of the world's biggest problems: species extinction, deforestation, and the ongoing plastic flood. To this day, we have built the world's largest recycling village, combining nature conservation and environmental protection with humanitarian aid in our project.

In Indonesia (Sumatra, Bukit Lawang), we have introduced a kind of deposit and recycling system for this purpose, in which the garbage is collected and then installed in isolation. Thanks to the deposit system, plastic waste now receives a counter value. Before, inhabitants in the region where the project is based were responsible for their own waste and had to burn, "get rid of" it in nature or in the rivers.

Now, the waste is collected separately and taken to the newly built Trash Bank for further processing. "Locals" collect, clean, and dry plastic waste and stuff it into plastic bottles. These so-called "ecobricks" can be exchanged daily, each for 5,500 IDR (approx. 30 cents), equivalent to 1 meal. The ecobricks are then installed in walls, protected from light, thus isolating the plastic waste from the environment. Plastic abrasion is prevented, and waste is put to good use.