Don't Waste Your Waste. Recycle

Recycling of waste products is not a new phenomenon to the islands of Trinidad and Tobago. We have a number of businesses and initiatives that partake in the recycling of waste products throughout the country with some of the most popular ones being Piranha International Limited, Trinidad Recycling Limited and SWMCOL. The Environmental Management Authority (EMA) introduced an initiative called iCare to help educate and encourage citizens of T&T, especially the younger generations, to recycle. In the twin island state each person is responsible for an average of 4 pounds of waste per day. With our landfills operating way over capacity, the need for proper waste management is becoming of greater and greater importance.

One major problem that is faced is the number of plastic waste that is generated in the country. Plastic waste is not broken down naturally like paper and other materials. When plastic waste reaches the rivers, drains and oceans through littering, it creates major negative social and environmental impacts on the country. This leads to flooding, water settling to create breeding grounds for harmful, disease carrying mosquitoes and litter ridden seas and beaches. In Trinidad and Tobago approximately 75% of the garbage floating in the sea is plastic materials. Wildlife such as turtles and birds mistake these plastic materials for food and when eaten can cause suffocation and death to these animals. However, sending these plastic bottles and bags to our landfills would not entirely solve the problem. Citizens of T&T send approximately 500,000,000 plastic bottles a year to the landfills which are already overflowing with too much waste.

Plastics along with glass, aluminium/tin, tyres and e-waste are all 100% recyclable.

Years taken for various waste materials to decompose.

ITEM	YEARS TO DECOMPOSE
Plastic Bottle	450-500
Plastic Bag	500-1000
Tetra Pack	5
Aluminium Can	200-300
Cigarette Filter	14
Glass Bottle	1,000,000
Styrofoam	NEVER

By recycling we eliminate a significant amount of waste going into the landfills but also the need for raw materials to make these products are also reduced. For example, if 1 tonne of aluminium is recycled it reduces the amount of bauxite needed to be mined by 5 tonnes. E-waste is comprised of old computers, televisions, radios and other appliances. The amount of e-waste generated each year is steadily increasing making the disposal and recycling of this type of waste very important. 

Recycling is a very significant part in waste management and the technology is readily available to us from the companies mentioned previously. There is no reason why each person should not start making use of these services in which they can earn money for some of their waste.  In many schools, universities and communities throughout the country there are bins allocated for various types of waste to be placed in order for it to be sent to the recycling plants. Recycling, however, is not the solution to our waste problems but to reduce the waste generated by the population on the whole. Each individual must take responsibility and reduce the amount of waste they generate in order for us to solve the problems at our landfills.

Written By: Andrew Bisnath