CIG steps up recycling efforts with $140k of kit
(CNS): The government has bought around $90,000 worth of new recycling equipment and $50,000 of specialist bins to boost the recycling efforts now being made by the Department of Environmental Health. The kit was described by officials as an interim measure to divert recyclable materials from the landfill until government completes what has been the very long process towards a fully integrated solid waste management system, which will see around more than 90% of all the rubbish generated in the Cayman Islands kept out of the dump.
Premier Alden McLaughlin, who also has responsibility for the dump as part of his health ministry, said, “Recycling is an integral part of the new system dealing with waste in a sustainable manner for years to come.”
The recycling equipment includes a sorting table, baler conveyor and a horizontal conveyor, which will be operated by five to six people, and new recycling containers to replace the existing temporary bins at the recycling depots at the local supermarkets.
Many people have embraced the idea of recycling in Cayman in recent years, even in the absence of any curbside pickup, with residents dropping off their recyclables at the supermarkets when they go shopping. The DEH said the new recycle skips will enable people to carry on bringing aluminium, tin, plastics, paper and cardboard and additionally ceramics.
These ceramics and the glass will be taken by the islands’ largest development company, Dart, which will crush the glass and pottery wear and use it as fill.
Other material, such as the paper, cardboard plastics and cans, will be collected in a new line of specialised bins at the recycling ‘depots’, which DEH officials said would now be named for the districts where they are located to “instill a sense of community ownership and pride”.
“It is this sense of ownership that DEH hopes will encourage community users to help make this recycling effort a great success,” said Mark Rowlands, the assistant director of solid waste at the department.
The recycling will still require sorting, baling and compressing into cubes to be shipped to recycling markets in the United States or other overseas locations, which will be handled by a broker, with the Cayman Islands Government receiving the market rate for the materials.
“If residents properly clean and put the correct materials in each bin as identified on the signage, and our staff properly sorts the materials and removes any contamination, then we will get top dollar for what we send,” Rowlands added,
Government has said that the ISWMS project is currently in the first stage of the procurement phase and it aims to have a contract in place, in principle, by spring 2017.
Category: Environmental Health, Health
“Which will see around more than 90% of all rubbish generated in the Cayman Islands kept out of the dump.” Where did you go to school? 90.00001% or 90.10000? Surely not 89.99999%
WTF is kit?
Recycling and common sense are nothing new, except to our incompetent leadership.
If anyone is seriously contemplating re-electing McLaughlin and his goons, they are either in his pocket or brain dead. He has done NOTHING for Cayman.
If anyone is seriously contemplating re-electing McKeeva, then the Casino industry in the Bahamas, Florida, Vegas and other known venues will be ecstatic to receive some impromptu Cayman Islands Government deposits.
Politicians, you are all liars, thugs, hooligans, thieves and generally lying, dishonest people.
I have no idea how you people sleep at night.
To the politicians who claim to be exempt from my scathing review of your track records, the very fact that you have not turned the known perpetrators in makes you accomplices.
As you can probably tell, I am absolutely furious with the mismanagement of what was once known as Paradise.
Shame, Shame and Shame be upon you all.
Too little, too late. Alden kicking the can just that little bit further down the road. The dump will kill us all.
It sure will, silently.
Congrats. Long overdue but at least we are moving in the right direction now.
In 2006 CIG were offered a plan to create a comprehensive recycling centre as an alternative to what turned into the Matrix scrap metal fiasco. The cost was minimal and in addition to keeping reusable materials out of the dump it would have created jobs and generated revenue but it was ignored. In 2007 Jean-Michel Cousteau told a local journalist that CIG had ample capacity to package up and ship out recyclable materials but no willingness to use it. Again that was ignored.
I first came to these islands in 1992. Back then bar staff were dumping everything into one huge trash can and I remember a visitor from Florida being horrified by that. Over 24 years on nothing much has changed and I think the reason for this is that nobody in CIG can figure out the ‘what’s in it for me’ factor in recycling. If you showed them that they and their families would all make a nice little financial killing out of recycling I bet there would be collection centres springing up across the islands overnight.
You Seem to have forgotten that there was a few recycling centers around the island that actually paid for recycling material 2009-2015. Because that was successful the Govt removed the operators from the island. Now the efforts are on the back of the tax payer vs private business. Third world socialist methods of accomplishing easy tasks
4.37pm Your post is in very poor taste . All about putting down Caymanians.
Caymanian bar staff?
I recycle most everything. All the peelings from the kitchen goes in the compost corner that I have created in my yard along with some plant debris. I wish I could compost all clippings but I live in a small development and don’t have enough space to contain all the leaves etc. I hope the garbage people have a remedy for that at the landfill in the meantime until I can buy a debris shredder. I do not buy a lot of cans, plastic and glass stuff but some things we have no choice with. It makes me feel so good to recycle and.compost.
we have 2 mango trees that sprouted out of our compost! Great living!
Wow, CIG finally getting on-board with the times and most people’s desires!! When my daughter was in primary school (she’s 26 now), we tried recycling in our home and was deterred when I took the first load of sorted and cleaned items to the landfill and was told that there were no sorting or recycling facilities. Under instruction, it was all dumped in the same dumpster.
We resumed cleaning and sorting items earlier this year when recycling containers were placed at supermarkets. From what I see in those containers, many households were awaiting this opportunity
Good to see serious efforts now!
All schools on the island should have the same bins as the grocery stores. This would encourage the next generation to participate from an early age and hopefully they would teach their parents the importance of recycling.
Agreed- all schools should recycle… and so should bars, restaurants and hotels! I know the Ritz has recycling containers but not sure about other properties. The Gov’t should make recycling mandatory for these establishments, provide them with the containers but also provide them with a service to pick up the items– it’s really that simple. It will create jobs, promote environmental responsibility etc. Imagine if all the bars had to recycle their glass bottles alone! That would be a HUGE effort and saving of recyclable material into the landfill. It’s a shame this hasn’t been implemented yet– how can we make this happen???
This is good, but what about the Dump? It must be capped ASAP!
The number of idiots I see chucking cans and glass bottles in trash bins that are right beside well marked recycling bins is astonishing. You really can’t be that stupid can you?
I am afraid that there are lots of people who are “that stupid”. Take a look someday in the garbage- recycling containers beside Foster’s in West Bay: you will see what I mean.
The recycling efforts by the DoEH has been great. The skips get emptied regularly. I would like to remind folks that items should not be put into bags. That is, don’t put the glass/plastic/cardboard/etc. in garbage/carrier bags before putting the items in the skips. If you bring items in a bag/box, then dump the items into the skip and keep the bag/box to reuse for your next collection. Having to rip the recyclables out of non-recyclable containers kind of defeats the purpose.
all new strata developments should be made have recycling and compsting bins. easy fix…get it done!
As a local person who have lived overseas for a significant period of time, I’m ashamed to say that we have made little progress in our recycling efforts. We have to start with educating our kids in school. Kids should be admonishing their parents at home if they are not recycling. Parents should be leading the recycling charge. We have to refuse to pick up garbage unless it’s placed in the correct bins, which should be mandatory and available for purchase. We have to daily remind people of the need to recycle.
Many people who come from US and Canada understand the significance of recycling. Now this is not a zenophobic posts and I would appreciate objective views. I lived there for years and some towns and cities have extremely stringent rules. For instance pick up days for certain types of trash etc.
My Caymanians, I beg you to demand more from your Government with regards to recycling and protection of our environment for the future of our kids. I also beg you to be more aware of your habits and how they impact the environment and the habits of your kids.
Buying the equipment is one step but it’s useless if we don’t change our mindset and provide the tools for people to recycle.
A step in the right direction. Please now get the hospitality/tourism industry on board. It is so sad to see that many hotels, restaurants, bars etc still do not promote recycling on their properties. There is no excuse for restaurants and bars not to collect bottles and bring them to the recycling place. The Island is not that big so the drive to drop off the bottles is relatively short.
Government should also advertise the recycling programs at the airport so that incoming tourists/visitors are aware what can be recycled and where to drop. Ideally, hotels and condominium complexes should have signs in each hotel room/condo, directing their guests as to what can be recycled and where the respective collection bins are on the property.
You will be surprises how many visitors will embrace this concept.
Thank you. Our hotels and restaurants serve thousands of drinks a day – all in non-recycled #5 plastic. Thousands of plastic water bottles too – all going in the garbage. We can do better.
If the government is not going to accept all types of plastic for recycling they should ban the import of those items. Force the bars and hotels to import recyclable or better yet biodegradable cups instead of the ones that are not currently recyclable here. All styrofoam food and beverage containers should be banned immediately.
Govt should make it MANDATORY for restaurants, bars and hotels to recycle!!! It’s that simple! Make the recycle bins available for them to purchase (big containers, like the ones at the grocery stores) but agree that gov’t will be responsible for picking up at those establishments. Some of the smaller bars etc won’t be able to transport all those bottles to the depot- it’s a great way to create jobs and promote recycling. We need to step it up Cayman– like previous posters have mentioned, in the US, Canada and all over Europe- recycling is not even a question, it’s a responsibility of everyone and is looked at the same way as taking out the trash- it must be done and done properly.
It’s hard to change over two decades of bad practice. I remember 24 years ago bar stuff dumping all the trash into one big bin and nothing has changed since. The only way to break out of this is to pass laws forcing businesses to recycle – that’s what they’ve done in the USA.