Plastic Recycling in Cotacachi

Last week I decided to start my explorations into sustainability in Ecuador (my official work study project for the year.) I had heard that a grass roots, plastics recycling program was starting up in Cotacachi, a small town near Otavalo and that they were having a meeting for the expat community. In other words, it was going to be in English. So, I decided to attend. I haven't seen this many "gringos" since I arrived. It was actually a bit odd to be in Ecuador and surrounded by a bunch of English speakers. On the up side, the enthusiasm of the group was nice to see, and after the inspiring presentation, when a sheet was passed around for volunteers, most of the people in the room signed on to the project. I myself am likely to join some of their work days. 

Like the rest of the world, Ecuador has a problem with plastic. This cheap, and easily moldable substance doesn't ever truly break down (it can degrade into little bits with prolonged exposure to sun) so every item you purchase, eventually adds to the growing mounds of trash that cover this globe. More and more items are sold in plastic and very little of it is recycled. In fact, if you are in Ecuador, much of it doesn't even end up in the landfill, it is tossed by the side of the road, or in the closest park. This behavior is one of the things that I have had trouble explaining to my daughter, largely because I don't understand it myself. This is a beautiful country and in some ways their urban development plans are more advanced than ours. They recognize the importance of open space and there are parks every few blocks, all of which are full throughout the day and night. There are gardeners working almost every day in these parks and there are people who are hired to keep them clean. So why is it an excepted behavior to finish a drink and toss the bottle on the ground? I find it baffling, and yet almost everyone does this. In some places, it is hard to find a trash can, but not here. There are trash cans scattered all over the parks in Otavalo but many people don't bother to use them. Sometimes the trash cans are empty and the ground surrounding them is covered in trash. On the flip side, a walk through the market illuminates the fact that many types of plastic containers are reused a number of times before being tossed. For example, our honey comes in a reused instant coffee jar, or a grey plastic takeout container. This is done largely for economic reasons but it is recycling none the less. Eventually however, all of these containers will be tossed. 

Cotacachi is joining a small group of towns in the northern Andes that are trying to tackle this issue. They are collecting bottles and any other plastic item that can fit in a bottle. Each bottle will be packed with plastic bags (and any other non-biodegradable item) until it is hard enough to be used as a building material. These bottles will then be used to construct just about anything the community wants. this is not a new idea. It has been done in Africa and in many other South American countries but it is new here. Below are some images of past projects. It is pretty cool.

Using plastic bottles removes non biodegradable items from the environment and reduces the amount of other materials needed to build structures. 

Here is an example of a greenhouse made by a group of children.

I'll keep you posted on their progress.