Dominica and Grenada to Stage OECS Project to Fight Plastic Pollution

CASTRIES, St. Lucia – The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) says two of its member countries have been selected to stage Recycle OECS model demonstration projects.

It said Dominica and Grenada et the eligibility criteria and were deemed most ready and viable for that purpose.

The project is aimed at reducing plastic pollution in the sub-regional grouping. The key outputs are the design and implementation of a model for sustainable waste separation, collection, and recycling of plastic waste for the OECS.

An important aspect of the model is that it will consider a regional approach, self-financing, sustainability, and business viability, said the head of the OECS Environmental Sustainability Division, Chamberlain Emmanuel.

Emmanuel said that the recent theme for World Ocean Day -“Planet Ocean: Tides are Changing,” resonates with the circumstances and vision of the OECS, which contains an ocean space that is 85 times larger than its land space.

He said for the region’s natural resource-dependent economies, these circumstances call for sustainable approaches that are blue, green, and circular to address the threat of pollution

“In so doing, the Recycle OECS Project is advancing the strides of the region to position our perspectives and prospects toward the vision of A Model Blue Economy Region.”

He said the region is “littered with plans – vision plans, strategic plans, and action plans, but there is a wide lag in implementation”.

The two-year project supports the broader European Union (EU) Zero Waste initiative in the Caribbean program, which aims to strengthen the EU-Caribbean partnership for cooperation in the field of circular economy and solid waste management.

The OECS groups the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts-Nevis, Montserrat, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands.