The Ministry of Communities on Friday opened a two-day exhibition on Main Street, Georgetown in regard to recycling waste materials to utilisable resources.
Darren Shako, a consultant at the Ministry of Communities, explained that the exhibition is another initiative aimed at informing the public of all the ways waste can be used in the country’s drive to becoming a green state.
“We need to rethink our approach in managing waste, especially solid waste,” Shako explained.
According to Shako, the event serves to attract citizens’ interest and inform them of the ways they can make a difference. He said the exhibition “provides a platform for persons who have been in the habit or reusing waste to showcase what they have been doing over the years.”
At the Texila University booth, one of the students, Mahathi SK, explained that the display showcased a biogas project which uses a large tank to produce methane gas. The methane gas is used as an alternative source of fuel. “It can be used for cooking, electricity… everything for which we use petrol,” SK said.
She added that Guyana, with its large agricultural sector, “can use all that waste to produce electricity for a small farm, and thereby save a lot of fuel”.
Maritza Jackson, an Ecuadorian residing for a number of years in Guyana, said her journey began a year ago, when she wanted to make a unique present for her husband. She decided to design an ornamental couple out of newspaper, and that has led to the production of numerous other items crafted from newspapers, magazines and cans. She plans to start a business in this regard, and encourages others to be creative and use old items to make “a difference”.
According to the Department of Public Information, Roxanne Kendall, a vendor at the Port Mourant market in Region 6, has said she has been making stuffed animals from recycled materials for about a year now. She noted that many persons do not seem to grasp the importance of recycling. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) representatives said that while awareness has been growing, the agency will continue being part of such initiatives, to ensure more persons are informed about the need to protect the environment. The Ministry of Communities has devised a 2017 – 2030 solid waste management strategy under the theme “Putting waste in its place” in Guyana. In an effort to update a draft of the strategy, the Communities Ministry, in September, began a series of discussions with various stakeholders. The updated plan has three main components – sustainable waste reduction and management strategy, operational standard procedures, and analysis of Guyana’s solid waste sector.
