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Lighting up homes

March 19, 2013

Cheap, water-filled plastic bottle bulbs are lighting up shanty towns and transforming the lives of the poor in the Philippines.

Image: Getty Images

Philippines: Plastic Bottles go Solar

06:12

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Project goal: Providing safe light to poor families in the Philippines, slashing CO2 emissions

Project size: Around 15,000 plastic bottle bulbs already installed in the Philippines

Project size: Founder Illac Diaz is aiming to have1 million plastic bottle lamps operational around the world by 2015

CO2 Savings: One solar bottle bulb saves 200 kilograms of CO2 a year

Former actor Illac Diaz is a star in the Philippines, and he’s decided to use his fame to fight poverty and climate change in his home country. His idea is simple and effective: using plastic bottles that usually end up in the trash to bring light to people in dark shanty towns who have no access to electricity. With the organization “ A Liter of Light,” Diaz is calling on wealthy Filipinos to pitch in, and he’s informing people about the dangers of climate change, too.

A film by Marion Hütter

Philippines: Plastic Bottles go Solar

06:12

This browser does not support the video element.

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