By Charminae George
The founder of a non-profit organisation is encouraging past students to donate barrels to their alma mater so that bottles and cans to be recycled during the upcoming school year.
According to Joshuanette Francis, the president of Good Humans 268 Inc, the target goal is 315 barrels, six of which will be placed in each secondary school on the island, and three at each primary school. These receptacles will be used to recycle approximately 850,000 bottles and cans, a goalpost that Francis believes can be achieved in one term.
“From our data, we have estimated 17,000 students on island. Five cans and 45 bottles for the entire school year [per student]; I literally think we can do it in one term,” she said recently on Observer AM.
Parents of school-aged children are asked to facilitate this venture by giving their children cans and bottles used in the home to deposit in the recycling bins at the 83 primary and schools across the island.
“The milk cans, the tuna cans, the tomato paste cans … the Clorox bottle, the ammonia bottle, the oil bottle — any bottle that you use at home — do not throw it away. Give it to your child and let them dump it into the bin at the school,” Francis instructed.
On Fridays, the bottles and cans will be sorted and transported to the organisation’s headquarters at Gunthropes Estate where they will be sorted and prepared for one of three destinations.
The cans will go to the Antigua and Barbuda Waste Recycling Cooperation (ABWRC), the bottle covers to the Wish Foundation in English Harbour to be turned into pots and the bottles to the Ministry of Health’s plastic initiative, Francis explained.
Funds generated from this initiative will go towards a stipend for the disabled individuals who work along with the organisation. In a year or two when revenue increases, the stipend will be replaced with a salary, she indicated.
Good Humans 268 Inc is a that was founded by Francis in June 2023 after being terminated from her job due to her osteoarthritis diagnosis at age 24. The organisation is dedicated to the causes of furthering environmental sustainability and assisting those with disabilities in Antigua and Barbuda.
‘Necessary for some, useful for all’, is their guiding principle, along with the aim of ‘creating golden opportunities for individuals living with disabilities’.
To donate a barrel, the funds towards purchasing a barrel ($80), or to sell a barrel at a discounted price, persons can contact the organization via the phone number, 789-4663.
