Virgin Islands Recycling Partnership (VIRP) Meeting

Monday, February 25, 2013 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM (Atlantic Time) University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas Campus, Room ACC 203

Call in Number: 1-866-299-3188 Code: 212 637 5028

Minutes

Introductions  &  Meeting  Details    • Keshema  Webbe,  US  Environmental  Protection  Agency  

o History  of  the  VIRP  o The  VIRP  Solid  Waste  Management  Integrated  Plan  is  available  at  

http://usvirp.wiggio.com.  • Geoff  Garrison,  US  Environmental  Protection  Agency    Remarks    • Judith  Enck,  Region  2  Administrator,  EPA  

Report  on  the  VIRP:  o Discuss  recycling,  reduction  and  composting  o Tremendous  potential  for  economic  development  and  job  creation.  

More  people  are  employed  in  the  recycling  industry  in  California    than  in  the  film  industry!  

www.nrc.org  -­‐  put  out  a  major  report  on  how  recycling  creates  jobs!  

 o Funding  for  education  o Opportunity  to  reduce  marine  debris    

  Report  on  the  Puerto  Rico  Recycling  Partnership:  

o A  partnership  that  has  started  at  the  same  time  o Tracking  companies  and  recycling  materials.  

 “We  shouldn’t  wait  for  the  landfills  to  close  to  start  to  recycle.    People  want  to  recycle.    People  are  surprised  that  there  is  not  a  lot  of  access  to  recycling.”  

 • May  Cornwall  Adams,  Virgin  Islands  Waste  Management  Authority  

o Work  with  Citizen  Advisory  Committee    

o VIWMA  focuses  on  EPA  compliance  and  enforcement  o Making  progress  in  the  areas  of  Scrap  tires  +  Scrap  metal    

Middle  of  negating  a  scrap  metal  contract   Scrap  tires  –  their  weight  and  costly  shipping  required  a  

significant  startup  investment  • Also  looking  at  aluminum  can  and  plastic  landfill  bans  

 o Barriers:  

o Need  a  Collection  facility  and  markets  for  these  materials  o Budget  reduction  problems  

 Question  (Sue  Parten):  Given  that  (1)  fiscal  efficiencies  are  lost  through  layers  of  contracting  by  WMA,  (2)  since  there  are  already  government  layoffs  and  wage  reductions  (affecting  both  govt.  and  quasi-­‐govt.  programs),  and  (3)  since  EPA  through  SCOE  has  made  available  training  and  educational  assistance  to  WMA  and  other  VI  orgs.  for  carrying  out  recycling  and  composting  operations,  does  WMA  contemplate  carrying  out  those  activities  directly  rather  than  contracting  out  those  services.    General  response:  No.  Comment  (Geoff  Garrison):  Down  the  road  it  would  be  an  ideal  training  ground  for  public  +  private  sector.  Question  (Jason  Budsan):  Re:  WMA’s  public  service  commission    

     Updates    Organics  Intern  Project    

•  Dara  Monifah  Cooper,  Organics  Intern  Coordinator    • Interns  are  available  to  assist  VIRP  members  with  composting  projects  

o Contact  Laura  or  Dara  for  more  information.  She  is  available  via  email/facebook/wiggio.  dcooper@uvi.edu,  http://www.facebook.com/usvi.organics?fref=ts  

• Upcoming  VIRP  Composting  workshop  training  to  be  held:  ABCs  of  Composting  March  30,  at  Mandahl  bay,  Camp  Umoja  camp  grounds    (See  flyer  below)  

 • Marsha  Laurencin,  Organics  Intern,  UVI-­‐  St.  Thomas    

o Marsha  was  President  for  a  Day  Scholar  at  the  UVI:  http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-­‐news/2013/02/14/trading-­‐places-­‐uvi-­‐student-­‐serve-­‐president-­‐day  

o She  would  like  to  incorporate  a  composting  course  into  the  UVI  curriculum  

 • Laura  Cardoso  and  Melissa  Young,  Syracuse  University  Environmental  

Finance  Center    o Those  interested  in  learning  more  about  the  internship  program  

should  contact  Laura:  lcardoso@syr.edu      VIRP  Teams            

• Laura  Cardoso  o Start  organizing:  start  talking  to  your  neighbors  and  start  a  model  

program!  o RESOURCES:  

Syracuse  COE  in  the  Classroom  • http://www.syracusecoe.org/coe/sub1.html?skuvar=1

66Cornell     Cooperative  Extensive  and  Cornell  Waste  Management  

Institute  • http://cwmi.css.cornell.edu/  • http://www.cce.cornell.edu/Pages/Default.aspx  

   

 Puerto  Rico  Market  Development    

o Charlotte  McDevitt,  BVI,  Green  VI    

o Jason  Budsan,  EAST   Partnering  with  VIRP  +  Gifft  Hill  School  +  Organics  Internship   Will  host  the  Composting  workshop  on  Mandahl  Bay  March  30th  

• “What  can  we  do  to  showcase  these  efforts”?  Showcase/highlight  engagement  of  young  people  +  community  groups  in  a  one  day  workshop    

• Composting  as  a  mechanism  for  creating,  rich  soil  and  cost  to  the  government  

Reusable  bags  project  • Made  in  the  USA,  organic  material  bags  • Looking  for  sponsorship  • Get  these  out  into  the  community  

   

o Barry  Devine,  Island  Green  Building  Association  of  St.  John   Provide  leadership  and  counsel  beyond  green  building  or  green/  

sustainable  living     Sustainable  living  center   Green  construction  guidelines      

Education/Collabroation  • With  Gifft  Hill  School,  St.  John..etc/.  

 Discussion:  How  to  set  up  source  separation?  

Source  separation  of  the  waste  is  fundamental  to  have  a  cost  effective  program  and  will  create  jobs.  

   

Website  Updates,      

• Laura  Cardoso  o Current  VIRP  updates  are  available  through  http://usvirp.wiggio.com  

and  email.  o A  VIRP  website  is  in  development.  

   

 Other  VIRP  Business  and  Next  Steps  

 Comment:  Encouragement/support  for  Organics  Internship  and  Marsha.  The  university  is  a  breeding  ground  for  ideas  and  initiatives.    Comment:  Need  to  teach  our  kids  to  take  care  of  the  environment.    Call  for  supplies  (Benita  Martin):  Looking  for  items  that  can  be  recycled  and  reused.  As  farmer  they  always  need  containers  that  can  be  reused  such  as  plastic  large  yogurt,  cottage  cheese,  and  coffee  containers.    They  also  use  paper  and  cardboard  for  mulching  (cardboard  ithout  ink  on  it  ).  She’s  building  a  terrace.  They  use  a  shredder  to  shred  cardboard  and  compost  there.  Bring  your  clean  plastic  bags  and  they  will  reuse  them!  She  has  15  farmer  contacts.  As  many  supplies  as  you  can  give  to  her  would  be  very  helpful.  Ginger  Brown  has  an  eco-­‐friendly  villa  on  St.  Croix  and  she  is  reusing  coffee  containers.  See  example  photo  below  or  Contact  Benita  at:  benita_mar@yahoo.com  

 

 Announcement  (Jane  Brown):  Description  of  Eco-­‐  friendly  store  +  insulated  reusable  bags    Comment:  55-­‐65%  of  the  USVI  waste  stream  is  compostable.    Announcement  (Jim  Doersam):  He  is  working  to  set  up  large  scale  composing.  He  can  be  reached  at:  jimdoersam@sbcglobal.net    Comment  (Sue  Parten):  On  a  larger  scale,  you  also  need  legislation.    The  local  government  should  mandate  charging  for  plastic  bags-­‐  ie:  Austin,  Texas  did  this.  They  warned  the  local  grocers  and  retailers  that  this  plastic  bag  mandate  was  going  to  be  put  into  effect.  See  below.  

 

 Get  your  communities  to  write  to  your  senators.  Say  “I’m  not  going  to  vote  for  you  unless  you  vote  for  paper  bags  or  charge  for  plastic  bags.”    OR  Sign  the  PetitionL  http://www.thepetitionsite.com/603/676/271/virgin-­‐islands-­‐no-­‐more-­‐plastic-­‐bag-­‐pollution/  

         

                 

         

VIRP  Member  Tasks    

1. Join  or  renew  your  membership  online:  http://lcardoso.wufoo.com/forms/virgin-­‐islands-­‐recycling-­‐partnership/    

2. Join  a  VIRP  Team,  establish  a  Team  Chair  and  collaborate  on  any  project  ideas!    Communicate  updates  with  Laura  Cardoso:  lcardoso@syr.edu.    Also  look  for  information  at:  http://usvirp.wiggio.com  

 • Construction  &  Demolition  Team  • Education  &  Outreach  Team  • Glass,  Metal  &  Plastic  Containers  Team  • Government  Relations  Team  • Organics  Team  • Paper  Team  • Scrap  Metals  Team  • Special  Wastes    (Including  Electronic  Waste)  Team  

 3. Each  team  coordinate  team  meeting(s)  in  March  2013  

i. Team  meetings  can  be  conducted  via  conference  call  with  all  members.  This  will  assist  in  the  mobilization  of  teams  as  well  as  make  members  aware  of  the  March  30th,  composting  event.  

 4. Attend  the  of  ABC's  of  Composting  Event  (Organics  Team)  

i. See  flyer  attached  below.  ii. Assist  in  promotion  by  inviting  all  members  and  their  friends  and  

family.  Encourage  face-­‐to-­‐face  dialog  as  well  as  enlist  new  members.    

5. Sign  the  petition  for  “Virgin  Islands  No  More  Plastic  Bag  Pollution”  http://www.thepetitionsite.com/603/676/271/virgin-­‐islands-­‐no-­‐more-­‐plastic-­‐bag-­‐pollution/  

 6. Get  reusable  items  to  Benita  Martin:  benitarecycle@gmail.com  

   

7. Collect  contact  information  on  composting  sites  and/or  community  garden  education  programs  in  the  VI.  Send  info  to  Laura  Cardoso:  lcardoso@syr.edu    

8. Visit  the  Organics  Internship  Facebook  Page:  http://www.facebook.com/usvi.organics?fref=ts  

     Stay  involved  with  the  VIRP  and  share  any  future  ideas  you  may  have!  Thank  you.  

What: The ABC's of Composting and You Where: Mandahl Bay at Camp Umoja Who: The Environmental Association St.Thomas St.John,VI Conservation Society, Environmental Rangers, The Virgin Islands Recycling Partnership (VIRP) and the VIRP Organics Interns along with other interested groups. When: Saturday March 30, 2013 (9:00 am to 3:30 pm) Why: In these trying economic times and where we should be doing all that we can to help our environment, we would like you to become more aware of what composting is all about and how you too can produce this useful and productive product at home, school or at the university level. This free workshop will give you hands on approach on the science of composting and how you can make your own compost bin to fit in with your needs. Organics Interns from UVI will be able to provide an update on the progress of their internship from a grant provided by Environmental Protection Agency and the Environmental Finance Center (EFC) at Syracuse University. The EFC is using its solid waste management and recycling expertise to also facilitate the U.S. Virgin Islands Recycling Partnership (VIRP) in an effort to assist the islands in establishing a sustainable solid waste strategy—based on an aggressive program of waste reduction, recycling and composting—and moving toward a sustainable materials economy. The partnership includes government (at all levels), non-profit organizations, citizens, environmental groups, and the private sector. For more information on the VIRP email Laura Cardoso at lcardoso@syr.edu. At this workshop the above members will also provide recycling tips and how you can be more involved in recycling. These items include aluminum, glass, paper and other recyclable materials. It is estimated that between 60 to 65% of our waste stream is organic in nature and that instead of adding this valuable product to our dumps, we could

be creating rich organic compost to grow our food or other useful ways to benefit our community. Please email east.activities@gmail.com or call Laura Cardoso at 315-443-8560.