With the Perpetual Plastics Project, EPIC Sint Maarten is creating a community-based solution for the significant single-use plastic problem by offering on-island recycling via a social workspace. It all starts by working with schools and getting the future generation, hands-on involved, in a more sustainable way of living. In addition, there are collaborations with care institutions and under-employed community members, so that the plastics are collected, shredded, melted, and poured into molds, finally transforming into new reusable items that are fun and useful. Precious Plastics is an international movement with open-source information about how to start and manage a program.
Starting a new plastic recycling program has been challenging because there’s not already a formal recycling program on Sint Maarten. The first step is to sort the types of plastics 1 through 7 based on their recycling symbols. In the first stages of the project, we will focus on recycling plastics that are safe to use for the people in our workspace. These include plastic type 2, high-density polyethylene or HDPE, and plastic type 5, a polypropylene or PP. We follow the open-source recycling method from the Precious Plastic initiative. One machine shreds the plastics into small pieces. Two machines, an injector, and an extruder, then melt those shredded plastics and create small items such as coasters and charms or larger items such as benches and planters. The initial collection of type 2 and 5 plastics takes place at schools that volunteer for the Green Dream initiative, a collaborative effort including school recycling and business partnerships, including the creation of a community workspace.
An important aspect of the project is the education program because reducing plastic use and importation is a critical step in reducing waste. Through the education program, launched in March 2024, children are taught about the positive and negative effects of plastics and are inspired to reduce and recycle plastics at school and at home.
Education and engagement also take place in the new social workspace located on the Union Road in Cole Bay. The goal is to have a safe and inclusive workspace where plastics can be transformed into new reusable products, which will be functional and aesthetically pleasing. It’s a space to visit, deposit plastics, inspire, and learn, but also to get involved! The workspace is a social initiative that will create workspaces for persons within our community with a distance from the standard labor market. In collaboration with care organizations, the community will learn and develop new skills that can help us move forward and provide a space where they will be comfortable to execute various activities. It will also be a space for students who would like to gain skills and knowledge, but also for creatives and those with a social background to create and make a positive contribution to society.
A grateful and sincere thank you to the many donors, volunteers, and supporters who have worked and contributed toward making this project happen. Thank you!
Do you have any questions? Would you like to get involved as a school, care organization, or a business? Do you have a full bin that needs to be emptied? Or are you interested in other potential collaboration/partnership/donation opportunities? Please contact us at perpetualplastics@epicislands.org or visit our Instagram page @perpetualplasticsxm.
For in person contact, you can visit us here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZQeTwpQsLzxro7rP8