IslamicFinance.de

In Indonesia communities are embracing 'trash banking' as a way of allowing their poorest citizens access to savings and credit. In Makassar on the island of Sulawesi the city of 2.5 million people produces 800 tons of rubbish each day. It ends up at the five-story high landfill, where scavengers work alongside cows foraging for food. Here residents bring recyclable trash such as plastic bottles, paper and packaging to the collection points, known as banks, where the rubbish is weighed and given a monetary value. Like a regular bank, customers are able to open accounts, make deposits and periodically withdraw funds. At other trash banks in the country, account holders can exchange their rubbish directly for rice, phone cards or paying their electricity bills. The local authorities in Makassar are supported by a local non-governmental organization that receives funding from PT Unilever Indonesia.