Many years ago we had the Maho Bay Campground glass blowing studio where residents were able to drop off their empty bottles, which would then be melted down and blown into beautiful designs. Unfortunately, after the campground closed, glass repurposing became limited to small-scale projects. For example, some people upcycled bottles by incorporating them into the decorative cement walls.
In 2021 recycling is making considerable strides. Just last year the University of the Virgin Islands was awarded a grant to purchase 5 glass-crushing machines for St. Thomas. These glass crushers will grind glass into sand, which can then be used to fill sandbags in preparation for hurricane season or to be used as aggregate for cement. Although glass waste only comprises a fraction of the waste produced in the Virgin Islands, this project is certainly a triumph for our community. By the end of March 2021, UVI plans to set up a bottle collection station every last Saturday of the month from 9am to 11am. This collection station will be located at the old West Bay Supermarket parking lot on St. Thomas. In the future, UVI plans to establish drop off locations to make the crushers more accessible to the public as well as encourage community involvement. In addition, the university is working on getting two more crushers for St. Croix.
Aluminum cans crushed and baled at Island Green Living. Visit them on Facebook here.
As of now, St. John will have to wait its turn. But in the meantime it is important to highlight the environmental establishments that St. John already has. Island Green Living, located at the entrance of Gifft Hill Road, manually crushes and bales aluminum cans, keeping nearly one million cans out of the St. Thomas landfill. The aluminum is shipped to Puerto Rico to be recycled, which keeps the carbon footprint of the Island Green Living at a minimum. Located at the aluminum crushing center, there is also the ReSource Depot where people can drop off and purchase used tools among other things such as pipes, sinks and doors (inventory changes day to day depending on what is dropped off). Aside from aluminum recycling efforts, we also have St. John Eco Station, which aims to reduce plastic waste by functioning as a refill station for household cleaners. Customers can show up to the station with any empty bottle and fill it up with one of the biodegradable detergents, window cleaners or all-purpose cleaners that the station offers. The Eco Station is located in Cruz Bay where the lumberyard used to be. It operates out of a green cargo container that is solar powered.
St. John Eco Station located in Cruz Bay. Visit them on Facebook here.
Our community is gradually becoming more eco friendly. The hope is that one day waste reduction efforts will thrive within the Virgin Islands and ensure that each of our beautiful islands are thoroughly protected.