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| Environment Minister, Dr. Denis Lowe??is expected to??speak at the opening of the 4R’s Fair in February.(FP) |
Homeowners and businesses are once again being urged to recycle their garbage and reduce the amount of waste going to the landfill.
This comes as stakeholders gear-up for the Solid Waste Project Unit’s (SWPU) fifth edition of the 4R’s Fair (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recover) scheduled to come off at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, Two Mile Hill, St. Michael, on Saturday, February 16, beginning at 10:00 a.m. This year’s fair will be held under the theme: Partnerships for a More Sustainable Barbados.
Minister of the Environment and Drainage, Dr. Denis Lowe, is expected to deliver the feature address during the opening ceremony.
In addition, the Unit is preparing to launch its second neighbourhood recycling project on Saturday, February 2, at the Villages at Coverly, Christ Church beginning at 4:00 p.m.
This follows the launch, of the Marchfield, St. Philip pilot project in April 2011. According to Waste Management Coordinator at the SWPU, Thora Lorde, the Pilot, a public/private sector partnership at Marchfield, St. Philip was continuously analysed to determine its response and feasibility.
Similarly, homeowners at Coverley will also be involved in the project, and will be required to separate all their recyclables, the plastics, metals, cardboard and glass, from normal household garbage and place them in the required bin.
"That would assist us in reducing the amount of waste that goes to the landfill, and recyclable materials will go into more productive uses," she said.
The results of these pilots will determine whether similar projects could be replicated throughout neighbourhoods in Barbados. "The main aim is partnership. The private sector will assist with the collection, people in the neighbourhood will play their part by separating their waste, and Government will be the overall coordinator," Ms. Lorde said.
She further noted that the SWPU was willing to work with other neighbourhoods to increase the amount of waste separation and composting being done locally.