Dr. Gamal Albinsaid’s Garbage Clinical Insurance accepts trash as payment for health care services.
In Malang City, Indonesia, more than 55,000 tons of garbage is produced daily. Of that, only 50-60% gets collected. These unsanitary conditions lead to health issues, and for Dr. Gamal Albinsaid, the connection between trash and healthcare triggered an ingenious idea – taking garbage as payment for healthcare services.
Dr. Albinsaid created Garbage Clinical Insurance to provide locals with sound medical services and medicines. The organization makes trash into cash by converting organic waste into fertilizers and compost and nonorganic trash into recyclable products. The profits are then pumped back into the healthcare services, which helps the millions of Indonesians living without proper healthcare. The company runs a health clinic of its own, works with four others, and has helped 3,500 uninsured people get health care.
The brilliance of the Garbage Clinical Insurance works on many levels – reducing waste, spreading awareness about the virtues of recycling and most importantly, helping people live healthy lives.
This article was originally published on Goodnet
Feature image of boy sitting amidst trash mound via Shutterstock