ST. JOHN, USVI – June 23, 2016 – This weekend volunteers of Island Green Living Association (IGLA) moved and prepped a towering 10-foot high mountain of aluminum cans for crushing while continuing to stamp down doubts about recycling in the USVI. The pile was so large it actually blocked entrance to the two containers where this picture was taken. A special call out to IGLA volunteers and board members as pictured from left to right: New Resource Depot/Aluminum Recycling Manager Marty Johnson, Denise Wright, Gary Ray, Rob Crane, Raquel Escarcega & Doug White (Akil Deshwal and Miles Stair not shown).
Beginning in July, anyone interested in volunteering is welcome to join the effort at the IGLA Resource Depot Tuesday – Friday 10 a.m. -3 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., no appointment necessary. Individuals and groups are encouraged to take part. The ReSource Depot is located at the Storage on Site facility on Gifft Hill Road across from the Susannaberg Transfer Station.
The majority of the cans are from the St. John Community Foundation Can Recycling Bins that the group established and manages at dumpster sites throughout St. John. Bin sites are collected by VI Waste Management Authority and delivered to the IGLA Resource Depot for IGLA volunteers to pre-sort and compact into bales to be shipped off island. The cans are then recycled into new aluminum products. The cancrusher was donated by Eco Serendib Villa and Spa and operation is generously supported by Linked Group.
To date IGLA has crushed tens of thousands of cans which otherwise would have gone to our overflowing landfills.
About IGLA:
The Island Green Living Association (IGLA) is an organization dedicated to preservation, conservation and environmental responsibility on St. John and throughout the USVI. Among its many accomplishments, IGLA established the island’s ReSource Depot, which has allowed 225,000 lbs. of building materials to be repurposed/reused to date, items that would have otherwise gone to the dump. The organization has been instrumental in helping to craft recycling legislation currently being reviewed by congress. In 2015 IGLA launched the Preserve St. John initiative to combat recycling issues on the island, starting with aluminum and is working with DOE on sustainability curriculum in schools.www.iglavi.org
