Community organization to execute Recycling and Greenhouse Emissions Reduction Project in Bequia

Action Bequia, a community organization that has already successfully completed several major projects on the island, on Wednesday announced a Recycling and Greenhouse Emissions Reduction Project.{{more}}

The concept is to enable at least six community based collection operations, which will feed a fully equipped recycling headquarters based at the Central Water and Sewerage Authority (CWSA) Raintree landfill site. At this site the recyclable material will be sorted and baled, or in the case of glass be crushed for use as aggregate. Optimally, the material will be sold and shipped on to companies that use recycled material in their manufacturing processes. That material which finds no market will be used as landfill at a small fraction of its original volume.

“We have several important goals” commented Shaverne Ollivierre who is Action Bequia’s project coordinator for this initiative. “We want to dramatically reduce the amount of rubbish that currently blights our island and provides breeding grounds for mosquitoes and other vermin; we want to play our part in the global reduction of greenhouse gases and we want to reduce the rate of addition to the fast diminishing landfill capacity. We are also proud that it will provide useful and much needed employment”

This project is being implemented with the collaboration of the Central Water and Sewerage Authority (CWSA) who are providing and preparing the land for the recycling headquarters.

“CWSA is pleased to be able to help Action Bequia on this important project,” commented Garth Saunders, CWSA’s general manager. Also essential is the collaboration of the individual communities, each one of which will be involved in the site choices and construction of collection sites, as well as the ongoing operations. Local coordinators are being sought to lead this community participation.

Mustique already has a similar programme and Action Bequia appreciates the cooperation from The Mustique Company, who have been 100 per cent willing to share the wisdom and knowledge that they have gained from their experience.

Funding for this ambitious programme has got off to a very good start. A strategic grant from the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP), an initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has been supplemented by private donations, a great deal of which come through the Community Foundation for St Vincent and the Grenadines.

More information about Action Bequia, this project and how you can help can be found by logging on to www.actionbequia.org

Contact: Shaverne Ollivierre at shaverne@actionbequia.org