Mark Johnson Sustainable Development Coordinator LBIS
Previously in LBImpactS Student Stories we have heard from our Conservation and Lagoon Clean Up teams. Today, our Recycling Centre present their amazing plans to establish a sustainable recycling centre on our school campus, not only to serve as an educational tool, but also a fully functioning organisation to contribute to the development of the Circular Economy in Mauritius. This project aims to support UN Sustainable Development Goal number 12 ‘Sustainable Consumption and Production’, but it also addresses efforts on SDG 14 ‘life below water’ where plastic pollution is having a huge detrimental effect and as new studies are indicating micro plastics also pose a significant health risk to humans * Here is their story.
8 Million Pieces of plastic enter our oceans every day
During LBIpmactS Week, our project championed by Mr. Chris Kishtoo Head of Design and Technology and lead by students Tania Leung Chung Tseung, Isabel Li Kwet Liit, Nabeel Taher and Bhavik Babajee focused on creating a recycling centre to address the growing issue of plastic waste in Mauritius. Plastic waste is not only detrimental to the environment on which so much of our economy depends, it is also becoming a national embarrassment. Our initiative aims to foster a sustainable environment within our school and the broader community whilst contributing to Mauritius’s plan to develop a more circular economy.
LBImactS Week Team visiting Freedom Plastics
In order to achieve this, the LBIS Recycling Centre aims to recycle plastic waste from our community and our wider school activities, such as beach clean-ups in order to convert plastic waste from the environment into useful and reusable products which we can sell in order to sustainably upscale our activities. We had previously visited the NGO’s Precious Plastics in the South of Mauritius and during Impacts Week we undertook a site visit to Freedom Plastics in the North. These visits provided valuable insights into the operations and impact of a functional recycling facility.
Our work with these NGOs provided us with knowledge of the machines needed for the recycling and manufacturing process. These include a shredding machine to turn the plastics into chips that can then be melted and processed with extrusion or injection machines to create products such as garden furniture of key rings.
From this information we created a business plan which we have costed and are working with the school board and the PTA to secure seed funding to establish our on-site centre. The plan sees our purchase of the machines and upscaling of our site over a 3-year period to become fully self-sustaining as we design, manufacture and sell our products.
The LBIS Recycling Centre will help conserve natural resources, reduces landfill waste, and decreases pollution. Our long term vision is that the LBIS Recycling Centre is be a sustainable, student-led initiative that will continue to educate and engage the community in environmental stewardship. By establishing this centre, LBIS aims to significantly reduce plastic waste and promote a culture of recycling and sustainability.
The Impacts Week activity for the LBIS Recycling Centre not only laid the groundwork for a crucial environmental project but also significantly raised awareness about the importance of recycling. It empowered the LBIS community to take actionable steps towards reducing plastic waste and protecting our environment for future generations.
*Yonsei Med J. 2023 May; 64(5): 301–308.