Residents of Surabaya, Indonesia, can now ride the bus with a simple trade.
The mayor of the city announced the rollout of the new Suroboyo Bus in which passengers can pay for their rides with plastic they turn in at designated bus stops and recycling stations around the city
“Passengers can travel around Surabaya for two hours for free,” Mayor Risma said, in an effort to reduce the number of private vehicles on the roads from 75% to 50%.
Indonesia is the second biggest marine polluter in the world behind China and this new effort is an attempt to drop that number drastically.
The government intends to process the plastic recyclables into useful goods.
This isn’t the beloved Mayors’ first effort to protect the environment. Risma has also overseen the establishment of parks in multiple unused public spaces to provide communities with WiFi, libraries, and sports facilities. The country has even been partaking in a trial to build roads out of recycled plastic near Jakarta and Bekasi.