Large fish-shaped containers have been showing up on several Mexican beaches as part of a campaign to promote the recycling of PET plastic bottles and the protection of the marine environment.

The most recent of the containers — called PETZ, a combination of the name PET and pez, Spanish for fish — was installed last month near the Papagayo park in Acapulco, Guerrero.

Beachgoers are encouraged to drop their plastic bottles through the fish’s maw, and keep the waste off the beach.

Smaller containers were installed nearby to collect plastic caps, with the purpose of supporting a different campaign. A round of chemotherapy treatment for a child can be funded with 1,000 caps.

Donations from the private sector are funding the PETZ but more money is required for the municipal government to install additional containers. Officials are looking for more local business owners to help out, so it can have more containers ready for the Easter vacation.

PETZ containers have also appeared on beaches in Guaymas, Sonora, where a local business designed them, and Manzanillo, Colima.

Source: Milenio (sp)