Climate, environment, management of natural resources: Reducing plastic is a win-win
Plastic poses a threat to reefs in the Caribbean. GIZ is working with partners to support the local circular economy.
Plastic waste is destroying vital ecosystems in the Caribbean. In collaboration with local partners, GIZ is promoting waste avoidance and the development of a circular economy that benefits everyone.
As the world’s second largest barrier reef, the Mesoamerican Reef is a vital ecosystem for humans and the natural world. It stretches around 1,000 kilometres beneath the waters of the Caribbean. But the reef increasingly faces destruction – not least due to plastic waste.
Human intervention is required if coral reefs are to be preserved. We must reduce plastic waste and prevent it from entering the oceans. In Belize, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, local communities, the private sector, public-benefit organisations and government agencies have joined forces and come up with innovative solutions to support the region’s circular economy. The project, which has been commissioned by the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in coordination with local partners.
Recycling to combat poverty
Although recycling is on the rise in Central America and the Caribbean, local recycling companies often process only high-value materials such as metals. Plastics, on the other hand, end up in landfill sites because it is not profitable for companies to process and reuse them.
María Sánchez is chair of the Fortaleza Circular organisation, an alliance of women recyclers in the town of Omoa in northern Honduras. What is considered waste by some has become a business for these women. Since 2023, the alliance has been collecting recyclable materials and selling them on to recycling companies. The companies then turn the plastics into new products. A training course has also helped the recyclers to use machinery to transform plastic waste into high-value products of their own. These waste collectors are a key part of the recycling value chain. The association also establishes labour standards and distributes the profits equally among its members.
Extreme poverty is widespread in Honduras. Fortaleza Circular has changed the lives of its members for the better and now gives hope to many. As María Sánchez explains: ‘To begin with, one of my sons felt embarrassed about my work as a waste collector because other children made fun of him. But today our self-esteem has improved, now I feel like an entrepreneur.’ Her organisation has demonstrated that plastic avoidance and recycling are not just a question of attitude, but also a powerful economic factor.
An island without plastic
White beaches, colourful wooden houses, turquoise waters – the Mexican island of Holbox is a Caribbean paradise for nature lovers and a popular tourist destination.
Tourism is hugely important for the island’s economy. But in addition to the waste brought by visitors to the island, an increasing number of hotels are adding to the degradation of the environment – with a significant volume of waste ending up in bodies of water, mangroves and the ocean.
The island’s population and tourism enterprises are working hand in hand to solve this problem. Together, they have introduced management and prevention measures to stop waste ending up in the natural environment. Having installed waste containers, the initiative has already collected more than four tonnes of plastic waste – roughly equivalent to the weight of three small cars. New drinking water dispensers on the island are helping to reduce the use of disposable bottles. And tourism enterprises are committed to reducing the amount of plastic in circulation by buying local unpackaged food and adopting reusable containers for cosmetic products, for example.
Such measures benefit everyone. Reducing single-use plastic not only protects the environment but the avoidance of waste pollution also improves the quality of life for islanders. Thanks to this effective approach to nature conservation, Holbox is becoming a model of success for the tourism industry.
