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Gambia's plant-based wastewater treatment is reshaping how we preserve the environment.

Gambia's plant-based wastewater treatment is reshaping how we preserve the environment.
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On a trip to Gambia in early 2014, Bianca Griffith visited a local wastewater dump with an enormous problem.

A friend of hers who works in government wanted her to see the Kotu Ponds in Gambia — the largest wastewater facility in the country — because recently, it couldn't handle its load. This meant that waste was overflowing onto the coast and surrounding areas, destroying the environment and spreading disease to animals, produce, and people.

"It's basically these giant lagoons filled with solid waste," Griffith recalls. "It looked like an island of trash."

She wanted to help.

Griffith is the co-founder and CEO of Agua Inc., a company that provides sustainable wastewater treatment systems in developing nations.

Established in 2013 with her fellow founder and COO Pedro Ortiz, the Agua Inc. team has installed over 200 water treatment systems around the world, some of which were completed before they had even formed a company. To date, they've done work everywhere from Kenya to Mali to the Dominican Republic.

CEO Bianca Griffith with COO Pedro Ortiz. Image via Agua Inc., used with permission.

Gambia, however, didn't have the resources to install a new system of their own, so, in mid-2014, Griffith and her colleagues established Agua Gambia Ltd., a subsidiary of Agua Inc. in partnership with the government of Gambia. By June 2015, after securing the proper licenses and contracts, they were officially in charge of the wastewater facility.

Unlike other projects, rather than just selling and installing their technology, Agua Inc. would take care of the entire service. By creating this new model, they could use private investments to finance the project and improve the current sewage infrastructure to make it more affordable, sustainable, and most importantly, 100% natural — something severely lacking in the developing world.

And how were they going to do this? With the help of good ol' green plants, of course.

Images via Agua Inc., used with permission.

Their method — called ABIS (Aquatic Biological Integrated Systems) — is a completely natural approach to waste management. It utilizes plants called macrophytes that have evolved to survive in waters where there is a lot of contamination and waste, explains Griffith.

These plants can absorb oxygen from the atmosphere and inject it into the water through their roots. This, in turn, helps creates an ecosystem where helpful bacteria can thrive and break down the harmful contaminants that they come across. While this is happening, the plant also absorbs nutrients from the water, purifying it.

In order to maximize how much surface area these plants can cover, Agua Inc. uses Agua Bio-Matrixes, which are devices that hold the plants in place and keep them floating at the surface level. This reduces the risk of clogging and allows the roots to increase their treatment capacity as they clean the water.

"We can do the same processes that a conventional wastewater treatment facility is able to do, these expensive mechanized ones, but do it without any energy inputs and without any chemicals," explains Griffith.

In addition to improving the environment, Agua Inc. also empowers the local community.

"We're trying to take the sewage facility and turn it into a garden and public space — make it beautiful," says Griffith. You see, Kotu is one of the premier tourist spots in Gambia, so by transforming the area that was once a sewage treatment area, they have the potential to usher in a more fruitful economy.

Image via Agua Inc., used with permission.

On top of that, Agua Inc. also ensures that the community is a big part of their growth. That's why 90% of their staff are locals, trained to take on the variety of roles needed in the waste management process. They also receive health insurance, more than standard pay, financial aid for additional studies, and opportunities for growth within the company.

Griffith hopes they can bring the water treatment technology to other places that need it soon.

That's the ultimate goal, she says.

Of course, no two places are exactly the same. But if their experience in Gambia has shown anything, it's that they can take a sewage system that's destroying the Earth and burdening the community and turn it into one that empowers locals, creates jobs, enriches the environment, and is sustainable for generations to come.

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New Amazon badge helps you discover and shop for more sustainable products

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Increasingly customers are looking for more conscious shopping options. According to a Nielsen survey in 2018, nearly half (48%) of U.S. consumers say they would definitely or probably change their consumption habits to reduce their impact on the environment.

But while many consumers are interested in spending their money on products that are more sustainable, few actually follow through. An article in the 2019 issue of Harvard Business Review revealed that 65% of consumers said they want to buy purpose-driven brands that advocate sustainability, but only about 26% actually do so. It's unclear where this intention gap comes from, but thankfully it's getting more convenient to shop sustainably from many of the retailers you already support.

Amazon recently introduced Climate Pledge Friendly, "a new program to help make it easy for customers to discover and shop for more sustainable products." When you're browsing Amazon, a Climate Pledge Friendly label will appear on more than 45,000 products to signify they have one or more different sustainability certifications which "help preserve the natural world, reducing the carbon footprint of shipments to customers," according to the online retailer.

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In order to distinguish more sustainable products, the program partnered with a wide range of external certifications, including governmental agencies, non-profits, and independent laboratories, all of which have a focus on preserving the natural world.

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Dr. Fauci sounds downright thrilled to do his job without battling anti-science propaganda

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Of the millions of Americans breathing a sigh of relief with the ushering in of a new president, one man has a particularly personal and professional reason to exhale.

Dr. Anthony Fauci has spent a good portion of his long, respected career preparing for a pandemic, and unfortunately, the worst one in 100 years hit under the worst possible administration. As part of Trump's Coronavirus Task Force, Dr. Fauci did what he could to advise the president and share information with the public, but it's been clear for months that the job was made infinitely more difficult than it should have been by anti-science forces within the administration.

To his credit, Dr. Fauci remained politically neutral through it all this past year, totally in keeping with his consistently non-partisan, apolitical approach to his job. Even when the president badmouthed him, blocked him from testifying before the House, and kept him away from press briefings, Fauci took the high road, always keeping his commentary focused on the virus and refusing to step into the political fray.

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Let's Do More Together

Meet the people infusing their communities with love and support when it’s needed most

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If the past year has taught us nothing else, it's that sending love out into the world through selfless acts of kindness can have a positive ripple effect on people and communities. People all over the United States seemed to have gotten the message — 71% of those surveyed by the World Giving Index helped a stranger in need in 2020. A nonprofit survey found 90% helped others by running errands, calling, texting and sending care packages. Many people needed a boost last year in one way or another and obliging good neighbors heeded the call over and over again — and continue to make a positive impact through their actions in this new year.

Upworthy and P&G Good Everyday wanted to help keep kindness going strong, so they partnered up to create the Lead with Love Fund. The fund awards do-gooders in communities around the country with grants to help them continue on with their unique missions. Hundreds of nominations came pouring in and five winners were selected based on three criteria: the impact of action, uniqueness, and "Upworthy-ness" of their story.

Here's a look at the five winners:

Edith Ornelas, co-creator of Mariposas Collective in Memphis, Tenn.

Edith Ornelas has a deep-rooted connection to the asylum-seeking immigrant families she brings food and supplies to families in Memphis, Tenn. She was born in Jalisco, Mexico, and immigrated to the United States when she was 7 years old with her parents and sister. Edith grew up in Chicago, then moved to Memphis in 2016, where she quickly realized how few community programs existed for immigrants. Two years later, she helped create Mariposas Collective, which initially aimed to help families who had just been released from detention centers and were seeking asylum. The collective started out small but has since grown to approximately 400 volunteers.