 ?? |
| Minister of the Environment, Dr. Denis Lowe, presents??Andrew Boyce with??his??’Going Green’ award during the B’s Recycling award??ceremony, in recognition of the greening efforts of participating companies. (A. Miller/BGIS)?? |
Their efforts have been 14 years in the making and today, representatives from B’s Recycling gathered at the R.M. General Services in Tudor Bridge, St. Michael, to show their appreciation to individual Barbadians and businesses for their contribution to the ???Going Green Campaign’.
Minister of the Environment, Dr. Denis Lowe, congratulated both the awardees and B’s Recycling, and noted that four P’s – purpose, partnership, profit for communities and the environment and people – were the driving force behind the business.?? He gave the assurance that government, corporate Barbados and communities would continue to assist B’s Recycling in its continued valuable contribution to Barbados.
"…I would want to suggest to you that because of the work of this company, we’ve been able to divert a significant amount of solid [recyclable] waste from the landfill…Barbados is a very small land space and we do not have the luxury of continuing to add landfills across Barbados…we cannot continue to build mountains of solid waste at the existing landfill, because of some of the environmental perils associated with such.?? As a result, we’re encouraging Barbadians to become involved in ensuring that they join the programme in minimising the waste that goes to the landfill," Dr. Lowe said.
He explained that the company’s efforts would not be taken for granted, but in fact, plans were in the works for a bigger, better B’s Recycling.
"…we are [assessing] the progress towards the relocation of B’s Recycling from Cane Garden in St. Thomas to Vaucluse in the same parish.?? I was pleased to learn…that the Inter-American Development Bank has agreed to fund that relocation effort and the government has also agreed and is in the process of finalising the
purchase of land at Vaucluse where B’s Recylcing will be housed," the Minister disclosed. He added that he looked forward to the business eventually being able to offer recycled products for Barbados and revealed that government was "looking at a suite of concessions to assist B’s in the execution of its mandate".??
Individual Awards went to longstanding customers, Maureen Calendar Harris and Savina Mayers, and businesses which, over the last two years or more, had illustrated their dedication to greening efforts.?? These were: Almond Beach Village Bar, Bougainvilea Beach Resort; Champers Restaurant and Wine Bar; Crystal Cove Hotel; Divi Southwinds Beach Resort, Sea Breeze Beach Hotel; The Beach House; Tides Restaurant; Boyce Andrew Auto Mart; McEnearney Garage; Nassco Ltd.; and Simpson Motors.
Paul Bynoe, Managing Director of B’s Recycling, revealed that his company would be able to accommodate four new recyclable products within the next month, while?? Supervisor Troy Johnson said they hoped to make house-to-house collections, which they currently offered in some communities a staple of their offerings.?? Mr. Johnson observed that the most crucial element of ensuring a greener Barbados was dedication.
"If we are serious about saving the landfill, protecting water resources, saving jobs, saving foreign exchange and ultimately preserving our environment, then we must commit to these types of initiatives.?? These changes, by necessity, must come, not from our heads but our hearts…remember, be gentle with the earth, it’s our future, pass on a clean Barbados to future generations," he urged.??