Mottainai Campaign

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Mottainai is an ancient Buddhist term from Japan that means to have respect for the resources around you, to not waste resources, and to use them with a sense of gratitude. The concept is closely associated with the conservation practices that people most commonly recognize as the three R’s – reduce, reuse, recycle – with a fourth R for respect.

In Kenya, the Mottainai campaign was initiated by Professor Maathai to eliminate waste plastic from littering the natural environment. GBM’s campaign has successfully influenced government policy changes against the production and use of very thin plastic materials that are un-recyclable.