Africa-Press – Cape verde. The coordinator of the “De-Plasticize Boa Vista” project appealed this Monday for the mobilization of partners and funding to acquire industrial equipment and enhance the transformation of plastic waste into commercial products, ensuring the environmental and financial sustainability of the recycling unit.
In the context of World Environment Education Day, celebrated today, the project coordinator, Carlos Reis, explained that the project, although operational for two years, faces a technical obstacle both in terms of awareness-raising and in terms of land and production.
“Our biggest handicap is still the equipment. We need a good shredder to reduce the volume of plastic and presses to produce furniture,” he stated, highlighting that the lack of financial resources hinders the ability to provide a greater response to marine pollution on the island.
According to him, technological strengthening is currently a priority; the unit operates with basic means, focused on small handicrafts and brooms.
However, the coordinator envisions a future in which the plastic collected from hotels, restaurants, and beaches will be transformed into furniture such as tables and chairs.
To achieve this, the project requires investment in specific machines such as a hot press and an extruder, equipment that has not yet been acquired due to lack of funds.
“The idea is for the project to be financially autonomous in the future. The transformed plastic has the potential to generate revenue to sustain the space, but for that we need this initial investment in technology,” the manager emphasized.
Carlos Reis indicated that “Desplastificar Boa Vista” functions as a public-private partnership uniting civil society, the municipal council, and various associations, such as the Onze Estrelas club, Varandinha, Bios Cabo Verde, and Natura 2000.
However, despite this joint effort, the team consists of only two technicians, with the support of the municipality in terms of human resources.
The coordinator revealed that the next strategic step to attract investment will be the formalization of the project as its own non-profit association, a change aimed at opening doors to international funding and more solid partnerships with the private sector and tourism operators.
Despite transportation and processing limitations, the project foresees the imminent installation of the first recycling point in Sal Rei and the start of door-to-door campaigns aimed at raising public awareness about waste separation.
The goal is to ensure that the plastic arrives at the unit ready to be processed, instead of ending up in the municipal landfill or the ocean.
“We want to show that if civil society comes together, we can improve our environmental situation, but for that we need manpower and resources so that this effort is not wasted,” concluded Carlos Reis.
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