In the past few decades, the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, Thailand has transformed from a clean, fish-filled, swimming location to a dirty hub of trash. A monk from the nearby Wat Chak Daeng temple decided to create a recycling center on the temple grounds in an effort to prevent more waste from entering the water. The recycling program became a huge success, and the monk decided to pivot his efforts to cleaning out the existing river waste. He teamed up with Seven Clean Seas, an environmental organization that creates solutions for plastic pollution, to create a solar-powered boat that removes plastic from the waterway. The floating vessel, called the Hippo, collects trash from the river onto a conveyor belt, and dumps it into a collector under its roof. The dumpster is then taken to the temple, where the monks sort and recycle the contents. The Wat Chak Daeng monks have found a new sense of purpose in using the Hippo to make the Chao Phraya River a safer, cleaner place for both marine life and people.
Image via The Guardian
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