Green Phenix (Curaçao) and Perpetual Plastics (under EPIC Foundation Sint Maarten) strengthened their technical and social capacity in late November during an intensive week-long knowledge exchange programme. The training was organised with support from tourism group TUI and Stichting DOEN and facilitated by Scottish designer Rory Dickens, based in the United Kingdom and a pioneer within the global Precious Plastic movement, which is the basis of both recycling initiatives.
Teams from both islands worked on practical techniques for small-scale recycling, including material identification, process optimisation, consistent production with injection machines, instructions on extruder usage, mould design, and locally addressing technical challenges.
A coastal clean-up was also executed to portray the importance and need for such actions and recycling initiatives. During the sessions, concrete follow-up actions were agreed upon, to continuously be able to support each other and to make a bigger regional impact. The results were immediately visible: higher product quality and more efficient workflows within the circular workspaces.
According to Dickens, small, locally maintainable systems are essential for islands: “They are affordable, replicable, and strengthen local self-reliance.” In addition to technical skills, the programme emphasised social impact. The circular workspaces provide new opportunities for participants to develop skills, gain work experience, and contribute to a resilient regional economy.
The Green Phenix and the Perpetual Plastics teams highlight that collaboration is key: Circular solutions scale faster when islands combine their knowledge, experience, and capacity.
Perpetual Plastics (PP) is a plastic recycling social workspace inspired by, and following, the open source “Precious Plastic” method, which aims to make plastic recycling easily accessible, globally. This exchange tied into the connection that EPIC has to many other nature and environmental organisations throughout the region, especially within the Dutch Caribbean. Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao all have similar, successful recycling initiatives.
Perpetual Plastics recycles plastic types 2 and 5, which are safer and easier to recycle than other types. With the use of various machines, such as a shredder, injector and extruder, they can clean, shred, and mould the recyclables into various sized reusable useful items.
The organisation also runs an educational programme and provides a workspace/ social space for those not fully included into the regular labour market due to any condition or disability.
