Bonaire is an island beloved by tourists. We don’t produce much but purchase a lot, as do all the visitors and tourists who come here. Most of what we buy has to be imported first. Think about that for a moment. Because everything we import eventually ends up in the landfill. Not just the packaging, but the products themselves as soon as we dispose of them. Every day, a significant amount of waste is added. To reduce this, the United Nations has declared March 30th as the “International Zero Waste Day.”
Every day, we throw away various items: plastic, food scraps, cardboard, glass, clothing, an old table, you name it. For us, it’s waste; we no longer want it. Selibon neatly collects it weekly and piles it up. This has been our method for decades. Our landfill keeps growing larger and taller, which is detrimental to our living environment. Consider that 70 percent of our waste could actually be reused as raw materials. In theory, we could separate this waste so that the materials can be reused. From old cardboard, new cardboard can be made. Used motor oil and old cooking oil can be converted into biodiesel.
On our island, it is already possible to make new products from old plastic. On one hand, we collectively produce quite a lot of waste. On the other hand, for us as a small island, it’s usually too little to economically justify reusing waste as raw material. However, there are opportunities. Can’t we convert our garden and pruning waste into compost? Or crush our glass into granules that can be used in construction instead of sand?
There are various ways to be smart with products or with things we want to discard. You can use fewer items, use them longer, or reuse them. Use only what you really need. Take good care of your belongings by maintaining, repairing, or refurbishing them. Dispose of items in such a way that we can reuse the materials. So, try to consume less and use items longer. This way, you contribute every day to a waste-free environment and participate in the zero waste day! And remember: every day can be a day without waste!