Trading Trash For Tomatoes in Mexico City

While connecting waste to fresh food may seem anathema to many readers, that's exactly what a new program being launched in Mexico's capital city intends to do. According to Coren, in an effort to eliminate landfills and encourage local agriculture, the "government's environmental agency recently launched the Mercado de Trueque, a barter market where recyclable materials are exchanged for fresh food to support the city's farmlands."

"The market accepts glass, paper and cardboard, aluminum beverage cans, PET plastic bottles, and returns 'green points' redeemable for agricultural products grown in and around Mexico City, including lettuce, prickly pears, spinach, tomatoes, plants, and flowers."

The program is already proving popular with local residents. "The first market, held on one Sunday this March, sold out, exchanging nearly three tons of 60 agricultural products for trash."