Namibia: The School Where Students Pay With Plastic Bags

On a misty Thursday morning in the village of Pamohi in the northeast Indian state of Assam, children walk to school carrying two bags. One holds their books; the other contains 25 cleaned and sorted plastic bags and bottles.

For these students, the latter is currency – their school, the Akshar Forum, a 100-student institution established in 2016, accepts plastic as tuition fees.

When the kids arrive at school, they queue patiently, chattering among themselves as they wait their turn to deposit…