Stéphanie Jacquin is head of projects and operations at We-Recycle, an NGO launched in 2016 with the aim of promoting selective sorting on an island that is still heavily polluted.
While the first sorting campaigns began six years ago with a simple pick-up truck, two vans (acquired in 2019 and 2022) now cover the adjacent districts of Rivière Noire and Savanne. With funding from Corporate Social Responsibility and organizations such as The Coca-Cola Foundation, We-Recycle is active on a daily basis, and to date has collected dozens of tons of plastic and cans!
Once collected, recyclable waste follows a well-established circuit. Local companies transform flexible plastics into bags and sacks; rigid plastics into furniture and outdoor objects; cans into aluminum bars… as for PET bottles, they are sent to South Africa and converted into nylon and polyester for the textile industry.
Stéphanie insists on the fundamental aspect of complementary local training: “Put more emphasis on education and awareness-raising in schools, because we believe that good sorting habits with a view to recycling must be inculcated from an early age.” While she notes an increase in volumes collected in the Rivière Noire region and a reduction in non-recyclable waste in the sorting garbage cans, she acknowledges that “in the Savanne district, there’s still a lot of work to be done in terms of raising awareness”. Positive, Stéphanie and her team are continuing to roll out collection points.
