NEW YORK, Sept 12 — Illegal guns in storage present a risk, potentially getting into the hands of the wrong people at any moment and being used in an act of violence. To take on this issue, a Sweden-based NGO is working to collect these weapons, melt them down and create new goods. And the profits are also going to promote peace.

ETX Studio presents “Protecting the planet one step at a time,” a regular feature in partnership with Energy Observer Solutions.

In Lund, an NGO is working to ensure that peace is no longer “a dream waiting to happen.” Its project revolves around the idea of collecting illegal weapons seized in countries plagued by violence and melting them down to create a so-called ‘peace metal’ that can go on to be used as a new raw material.

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Every minute in the world, a person gets killed by a gun. The armament sector doesn’t seem to be feeling the crunch, even the opposite as gun sales keep on increasing: +4,6 per cent in 2018. Because of the lack of control, these guns end up on the black market where they are sold to criminal organisations. Each year, almost half a million people die by gun bullets. One death per minute. And as many families’ destinies take a dramatic turn. In several places, the world has witnessed an explosion of violence since the beginning of the century. From Salvador to South Africa, the NGO has developed, starting in 2016, a programme entitled Humanium Metal. The organisation collects the illegal weapons seized by the authorities of some countries that are corrupted by violence.

A symbolic raw material

Humanium Metal collects this harmful metal to melt it down and transform it into a new raw material. Since its creation, the programme has produced more than eight tonnes of Humanium Metal, which is the equivalent of 6,000 guns. In partnership with designers and entrepreneurs, this metal is then transformed into art or daily objects, with a high symbolic value. The benefits generated by the sales of these products are entirely redistributed to programs working for peace.

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Find out more: https://www.energy-observer.media/en/solutions. — ETX Studio