Trading waste for health insurance

The Dominican Republic markets itself as a tropical vacation paradise. But behind the scenes lie heaps of trash from mass tourism. People like Eddy Rosado and the UN environment program are trying to shrink the Caribbean nation's garbage dumps.

A US firm has developed a plant-based liquid which can extend the shelf life of fruit and vegetables. The product is now available in Africa, with the aim of helping reduce food waste across the planet.

People are still talking about Ghana's unique bus shelter made of plastic waste. It has been billed as a novel and sustainable way to put discarded plastic to use and fight pollution.

Ghana's only glass blower says he is on a mission to reduce the country's glass waste and wasteful imports. Michael Tetteh built his own glassblowing studio in 2012 from scrap metal and clay bricks and today produces dozens of eclectic pieces each week from recycled TV screens, window panes and soda bottles.

The mobile app Tekeya provides suppliers and restaurants in Egypt with a platform to sell their surplus food at reduced prices to customers who order via the application. Meals can also be donated to charities registered on Tekeya.

An intelligent bin aims to educate Kenyans how to correctly dispose of their rubbish. The added bonus: solar street lighting and free Wi-Fi.

Ghana's gourmet chef Elijah Addo is reducing food waste and feeding those in need. Once employed by high-end restaurants, Addo today runs West Africa's largest foodbank, and organizing mobile feeding campaigns has become his full-time job.

New Delhi has imposed a federal ban on some single-use plastics in a country that generates around 4 million tons of the material every year. Offenders can net hefty fines or a five-year jail sentence.

It is a common sight in Addis Ababa these days to see men, women and even children moving around the city with huge bags of plastic waste. Their hauls mostly contain plastic bottles, but any plastic waste they come across will fetch cash according to its weight.

"The most sustainable garment is one you keep for the rest of your life." Livia Firth, co-founder and creative director of Eco-Age, says the fashion industry has been turned upside down by the #fastfashion business, but that consumers and designers can reverse the trend. "The world has been addicted to consuming, like we've been addicted to sugar. We now have to wean ourselves [off that trend] and understand that it's not necessary to constantly change our wardrobe. In the long term you actually save a lot of money," she tells FRANCE 24.

A business in Nigeria is recycled discarded laptops into solar lanterns - creating a solution to the country's severe power outages whilst also helping to tackle climate change.

This process, known as fluidization is very efficient at converting food waste into high-valuable sources of energy-rich synthesis gas, a mixture of hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, also called syngas. Syngas can be used to generate heat and power.