The first good news story is from the Buy Food with Plastic organization. According to their official website, Buy Food with Plastic does more than what its name suggests; you can exchange plastic for not just food, but for income and basic necessities. The organization’s headquarters is based in Switzerland, but is active in local communities in Nicaragua, India, and Ghana. Collected plastic is then recycled locally by community members employed by Buy Food with Plastic. On their website, the organization says that this process “creates local jobs, income opportunities, and training, while at the same time building a functioning circular economy.” So far, they have recycled 4,234,230 plastic items, distributed 102,525 meals, and created 106 jobs. By 2030, Buy Food with Plastic hopes to reach 700 million plastic items and 5 million meals. To support the organization, you can buy products made out of recycled plastic on their website!
The second good news story is an amazing find! According to a study originally conducted in Wales, the shingles vaccine may help prevent dementia by 20%, and even help those who already have dementia! In summary, the reason why researchers and scientists believe this is plausible is because of the chickenpox virus. After contracting chickenpox, it lays dominant in the brain for life, potentially causing dementia. The shingles vaccine protects the body from shingles, which is caused by the chickenpox virus, leading to the possibility that it also protects the brain from dementia. Most of the knowledge about this topic came from the study done in Wales during a shingles vaccine rollout, finding that those who got the vaccine were 20% less likely to develop dementia, and those already with dementia had slower progression of the disease. If more studies are conducted and show the same results, it could be possible that dementia has a potential vaccine.
This article serves as a reminder that there are still good things in the world; sometimes they are just harder to find!
