PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — GreenBox, last year’s winners of Build Back Better SXM’s Do-Tank initiative for sustainable projects to rebuild St. Maarten post-Hurrican Irma, has been quite busy putting their plan for recycling into action throughout the community. Through this project, the company has managed to introduce its programs and spread the education of recycling to over 2,000 students and teachers across six Catholic Elementary and one High Schools on St. Maarten, collecting more than 13,412 lbs of recyclables during the 2018/2019 school year.
Operating as a non-governmental organization, the goal of GreenBox is to get children involved in and aware of the concept of recycling at an early age by promoting sorting and separation in the classroom. The initiative was launched in March 2018 as a pro-bono project in partnership with Meadowlands, equipping a total of 80 classrooms with the three individual sorting bins for plastic; paper/cardboard; and metal/glass. Once full, the bins are emptied accordingly into the school’s central recycle bin, which bears the identical division system. The recycles are then collected weekly, sorted and weighed by Meadowlands, and subsequently crushed and sent off-island for repurposing. This process is still ongoing, as volume is needed.
Many eager parents participated in recycling at the schools – a testament to the community’s desire to have access to safer disposal methods. As a result, the volume grew more than the pilot program could handle, and caused a disadvantage for some schools, as the school with the most volume would receive a prize.
The yearlong pilot project concluded at the close of the 2018/2019 schoolyear, and GreenBox thanks all participating schools, faculties and students for their dedication in making this project a success, regardless of the learning curve. Meadowlands’ contribution in picking up the recycles free of charge is also highly appreciated, as the logistical cost factor in this project should not be underestimated. Hence, funding generation will be the primary focus in the upcoming year.
While this pilot project was able to spare over 13,000 lbs of waste going to the landfill, there were some kinks in the operation that are being improved for the years to come. GreenBox will be teaming up with other NGO’s and local Green Initiatives doing amazing work on the island to pool their resources together and provide more effective education and awareness on recycling within schools for a more lasting experience. GreenBox is happy to announce that they have already collaborated with AllCaribbean to resume pickups at all Catholic schools within short.
Persons or organizations interested in volunteer work or funding towards the cause for recycling are invited to contact GreenBox through e-mail, greenboxsxm@gmail.com.
