Recycling Company expands environment awareness programme across schools

All Islands Recycling (AIR) Inc has launched an initiative aimed to help people generate an income by collecting plastic drinking receptacles and cans, and selling them to the recycling centre rather than have them pollute the environment.

On Sunday, April 21, 2024, just one day before Earth Day All Islands Recycling(AIR) hosted its official launch of ‘The Loop’, an initiative that encourages environmental awareness in schools across St Vincent and the Grenadines, while facilitating an opportunity for them to make an income by collecting plastic drinking receptacles and cans responsibly, and selling them to AIR Inc; so that these items won’t wind up in landfills.

Scores of attendees including media personnel, teachers and students of primary and secondary schools from across the country; staff of AIR Inc; as well as well-wishers, congregated at the AIR’s Recycling Centre in Campden Park to celebrate the launch of The Loop.

During her address, Manager of AIR, Gail Hillocks said that The Loop started through a 26-school pilot programme that was conducted at the end of the last school term, and from that came a short-term ‘Keep SVG Tidy’ programme in 2015 which was a school contest that was initiated to encourage clean up in schools and their surrounding areas.

“The Loop is now being launched as a permanent initiative similar to how the Start Bright School Breakfast Initiative is to Tus-T Water. Both initiatives serve to aid and empower our future generations,” she said.

Students of the St Clair Dacon Secondary School; St Vincent Grammar School; Sugar Mill Academy; and the Barrouallie Government School were recognised and presented with their money for collecting bags of plastic drinking receptacles and selling them to Air Inc.

Junior supervisor and scale manager, Derani Cain, who has been employed at AIR Inc for five years told SEARCHLIGHT in an interview that the work being done by the recycling centre is important because it helps “reduce the amount of waste flowing through the rivers, streams and also through the seas”.

“We help to ensure that the country is kept clean while customers make a money out of it,” he added.

Hillocks said that AIR Inc was formed in 2012, and that it manages the recycling process of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) plastic; aluminium cans; High-Density Polythene(HDPE) plastic; cardboard from time to time; non-ferrous metals; and batteries. To date, AIR Inc has destroyed over 63 million plastic beverage containers and cans.

Hillocks added that had AIR Inc not accepted these receptacles and cans from local collectors, also referred to as harvesters, these items would have ended up in landfills, rivers, gutters, on beaches and the streets.

She noted as well that launch of The Loop is supported through an alliance between AIR Inc., Tus-T Water and Coreas Distribution Ltd.

“Let us come to understand that a beach/river clean-up effort is not a fix. Cleaning up and sending the collective and co-mingled waste to the landfill defeats the purpose. Let us become messengers for doing it right the first time,” Hillocks urged.