ORANJESTAD – Plastic Beach Party is an initiative in cooperation with Brenchie’s Lab and Academy of Fine Arts & Design. They collect plastic to have it recycled and are in the process of acquiring funds to purchase more machines and parts to work the plastic.
During the Big Children’s Parade in Oranjestad last weekend the foundation was collecting plastic that was left in the streets, but also collected by the public. Not only did the organization collect the plastic, they also talked a lot with the public to create awareness around the topic. People asked them why they covered 15 Florin for collecting the plastic from the carnival stands. The organization explained that they need to cut the plastic by hand now and with this small contribution they are gaining funds to hopefully buy the machine parts that can cut the plastic for them.
How to recycle this plastic? Well, the foundation receives support from amongst others Monumentfunds Aruba, Stimuleringsfonds Creative Industrie and Bank Giro Lotterij Fonds– by crowd surfing and donations they have purchased machinery that can process plastic in different ways and create new products. For example bottles, bags, cups and other plastic products. With this procedure there will be less plastic waste and the environment will benefit.
Souvenirs from Plastic
Nydia Dik is one of the volunteers of Plastic Beach Party Aruba and she explains that they are working on the production of plastic souvenirs now. “The whole idea of recycling plastic was formed by a group of people that worry about the waste of plastic on the island. They wanted to make a difference and help to solve this problem.” Aruba imports more than 6 million kilo of plastic on a yearly base, but where does all the waste go? With the idea of selling plastic souvenirs the visitors can actually contribute to the recycling of plastic. The volunteers designed and created their own products and one of them is a plastic heart that functions like a lamp. Dik works at the veterinary clinic in Paradera and this helps her with the foundation as the owners of the pets recognize her. In this way she can easily explain the importance of recycling the plastic and helping the Aruban environment.
For more information: Facebook Plastic Beach Party.
