Going Green!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Just because you may not see a row or blue bins or compost bags any given Tuesday morning on a neighbourhood side street in Barbados it doesn't mean recycling isnt happening. Believe it or not, that is something that took me a while to figure out! Barbados is one of the many Caribbean Islands that does not actively practice blue bin recycling and in fact it took me quite some time to readjust to not recycling. However their are many ways that the tons of used plastic bottles are recycled in an informal sector. On any given day you could bus down to Bridgetown and see a man or woman with a shopping cart or a huge garbage bag picking up the used bottles and cans. This is because each bottle is worth about 5-10cents depending on its size. As the bottles are collected they are returned to a booth outside of a grocery store in exchange for a food coupon worth the value of the bottles.
I know in Toronto we have a similar service for beer bottles, milk jugs and filtered water jugs but its not as actively endorsed and accepted. Whereas in Barbados some people do this as a way of life.

Aside from the bottles Barbados generally seems to be well ahead of many countries in using solar power and having efficient public transportation. Solar powered homes is not a rare sight in Barbados. As you walk down any neighborhood you can look up on the roof tops to see a shiny panel working hard at harvesting solar energy. For the most part the panels heat the water tanks and provide electricity for the home owners. The panel cost around 1500US, but it is worth the investment, as the government assists those who invest in using solar energy and it saves the home owners some money in the end.

So even though the 3Rs are not yet a household activity, the country generally is still filled with green initiatives!