The burning question of Cayman's garbage

A small trash incineration plant in Horsholm, Denmark. Far cleaner than conventional incinerators, this new type of plant converts local trash into heat and electricity. Photo: Johan Spanner/The New York Times

The Observer on Sunday - Local News
By: Basia Pioro McGuire

The way we think about waste in Cayman is at the forefront these days, with reminders about Mt. Trashmore’s state popping up with news that some of the site’s scrap metal is now being shipped off Island.

The site’s appearance from the Esterly Tibbets bypass may seem to indicate fewer junked cars, but the overwhelming feature, the 60-foot tall mound of garbage, still dominates the Grand Cayman skyline.

The Observer, the Compass the Journal have all reported extensively on Cayman’s trash situaiton and some of the available options. Currently, Dart the company, behind the massive Camana Bay development located adjacent to the hundred-acre landfill site, is holding town hall meetings with various stakeholders to explore possible solutions to the dump dilemma. Read whole story.

Toward Sustainable Travel: Breaking the Flying Addiction

Yale Environment 360 - Opinion by Elisabeth Rosenthal

Flying dwarfs any other individual activity in terms of carbon emissions, yet more and more people are traveling by air. With no quick technological fix on the horizon, what alternatives — from high-speed trains to advanced videoconferencing — can cut back the amount we fly?

Read more

Reusable bags catching on

Caymanian Compass

Local supermarkets are reporting an increase in demand for reusable shopping bags, and thanks may be due to the Cayman BECOME campaign.

The campaign, which launched at the beginning of April, is encouraging the Cayman Islands public to bring their own reusable bags when they shop and in doing so to become plastic free.

As part of this campaign, the major local supermarkets will start charging 5 cents per plastic bag from 9 June onwards.

“Over the month of April we sold six times the monthly average of reusable bags that we were getting through last year,” said Raquel Solomon of Foster’s Food Fair.

“The campaign does seem to be making a real difference.” Read the full story here.

Helping the environment of Cayman one cup at a time

Cayman Net News

Illy coffee technician Ian Anderson walked into the Brew House Cafe and walked out a few minutes later with two trash bags filled with empty aluminium coffee containers. He threw the bags in his van, drove to another cafe and repeated the process, all in an effort to encourage recycling in Cayman.

“I’ve lived on the island so many years I just see that we just have to go and be proactive when it comes to recycling,” said Martin Richter, who started the recycling program last year in conjunction with Illy — an espresso and coffee accessory company.

Delivery drivers like Mr Anderson pick up empty aluminium containers from the retailers, collect them and drop off them off to be recycled...read the full story.

dms Broadcasting joins green campaign

Cayman Net News

As environmental awareness takes center stage, dms Broadcasting station X107.1 is lending its voice to “Cayman Become’s” first green initiative – the plastic bag reduction campaign that runs through July.

“X107.1 is proud to be a sponsor of this initiative,” said X107.1 DJ and Programming Director Matt Nasby. “It is core to our business philosophy to lend our voice to causes that better Cayman and protect the future of our island.”

“Ensuring that the message is received by as many listeners as possible, we are featuring these community service announcements across all four of our dms Broadcasting stations.”

As a sponsor, X107.1 will promote a “greener mindset” for its listeners through a variety of ways, including guest speakers and community service announcements, such as “5 Things You Should Know” and “Completely Cayman.”

With more than 12 million plastic bags being disposed of each year in Grand Cayman, there is a rising concern about solid waste, Mr Nasby said, particularly because of the negative impact this will have on valuable marine resources and wildlife.

Read the full story here.

How to make a difference - Climate change and energy - How to make a solar water heater from plastic water bottles

Retired mechanic Jose Alano invented a simple, cheap, energy saving rooftop solar water heater which is benefiting thousands of people. Here's how it's done...

José Alano is a model of creativity in tackling environmental problems in Brazil. In 2002, the retired mechanic transformed a pile of plastic bottles and cartons into a solar water heater. Since then, thousands of people in southern Brazil have benefited from Alano's invention, saving money while reducing waste.

The idea came from the lack of recycling collection services in his small home town of Tubarão. Refusing to throw plastic bottle, carton and other recyclable waste into the landfill, José Alano soon realised he had a problem: a room full of rubbish.

Read the whole story here.

Today's Editorial for May 11: Gov't must lead green movement

Caymanian Compass

In an interesting outcome to a recent caycompass.com online poll, over two-thirds of the respondents said they conserved, but they knew they could be greener.

If one accepts the principle that acknowledgement is the first step in solving a problem, it seems the Cayman Islands populace would like to get greener. The problem is, the Cayman Islands Government isn’t on the same page.

As one of the poll respondents pointed out, nearly all of Cayman’s green initiatives are driven by the private sector, not the government. When it comes the being green, the government is no better than a pale shade of lime.

The country has a disgraceful landfill situation, with a towering mountain of trash dominating the George Town landscape. Pollutants leaching from the dump are poisoning the waters of one of Cayman’s most precious resources, the North Sound.

Although successive governments have commissioned expensive reports, paid for trips to multiple places abroad to learn about waste management, all we’ve heard is talk...read full story.

Cayman wants to be green

Caymanian Compass

The vast majority of respondents in last week’s caycompass.com online poll say that when it comes to being green, they conserve but admit they could be “greener”.

Of the 297 respondents, 204 - or 68 per cent - when asked how green they were, answered that they conserved energy, but could do more for the environment.

One respondent boasted that he was greener than most of his neighbours, while another said: “I am very conservative, not wasteful. Re-use!”

One respondent echoed a sentiment often repeated in Cayman. “It would be helpful if there were more options here for recycling.”

Nine of the respondents, or 3 per cent of those who took part, gave themselves a pat on the back, saying “They don’t come any greener than me”, while 26 people, or 9 per cent of respondents, insisted they were not green at all and don’t plan on turning green...read full story.

Dragon Bay cleans up

Caymanian Compass

An Earth Day clean-up sponsored by Dragon Bay developer Michael Ryan ensured that bags of litter were removed from the North Sound coastline.

Items removed included numerous plastic bags and bottles, as well as shoes, car tires, car parts, and countless Styrofoam food containers.

Over 60 volunteers, including Dragon Bay and Ritz-Carlton staff as well as their families and friends, spread out over an area encompassing the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman resort, the North Sound Club and Safe Haven.

Leading up to the clean-up, Ryan implemented a programme of activities to encourage eco-friendly practices throughout the 360-acre resort community...read full story.

Earth Day Turns 40

Check out this interesting video celebrating 40 years of environmental history from Mother Nature Network.

Green Globe recipients honored

Cayman Net News

Representatives from Cobalt Coast and Compass Point Dive Resorts and the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park were honored with Green Globe certificates at the Living Green Fair on Friday 23 April. Both resorts have specially appointed “green teams” who implement and oversee their green programmes, according to the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism (DOT), and the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park was the first botanic park in the Caribbean region to gain certification.

The DOT describes Green Globe as a highly regarded certification for the travel and tourism industry that demonstrates a commitment to improving environmental performance and efficient operations...see full article.