Who said that advocating for the environment meant inevitable poverty? Meet Illac Diaz, a Filipino social entrepreneur who founded Liter of Light. Liter of Light is a non-profit organization that brings light to underprivileged communities in the Philippines from reusing plastic bottles. His organization was founded upon the idea of Alfredo Moser, who created the concept of giving plastic bottles filled with water and bleach to households and schools located in regions living off-grid. 

According to the Plastic Soup Foundation, statistics provided by Euromonitor showed that one million plastic bottles are sold every minute and the number of bottles sold annually is predicted to rise to 583.3 billion in 2021. Another statistic provided by the Guardian has revealed that only 7% of the bottles collected for recycling were turned into new bottles, while most plastic bottles ended up in landfills or in the ocean. Through Light of Liter, Illac Diaz has promoted waste management by reusing these plastic bottles while at the same time illuminating marginalized communities. 

His organization has expanded to establish a network of partnerships worldwide, with Liter of Light volunteers over the globe teaching underprivileged communities on how to utilize recycled plastic bottles and locally sourced materials to brighten households, streets, and businesses. According to Liter of Light, the organization has currently installed more than 350,000 bottle lights in more than 15 nations and spread the eco-friendly skills to empower grassroots entrepreneurs in each region.

Illac Diaz and Liter of Light's open source technology has been recognized by UNESCO and has been awarded the Zayed Future Energy Prize and World Habitat Awards. Illac Diaz truly shows how waste management can positively impact the most marginalized communities.

Works Cited

“Illac Diaz, Light by the Liter.” Climate Heroes, climateheroes.org/heroes/illac-diaz-light-by-the-liter/.

“About Liter of Light.” About - Liter of Light, literoflight.org/about/.

Photos:

Liter of Light Logo, literoflight.org.