Activist Urges Tourism Sector to Fund Waste Management

By Kisean Joseph

kisean.joseph@antiguaobserver.com

Good Humans 268 Inc. Founder and President Joshuanette Francis is calling on Antigua and Barbuda’s tourism industry to fund new waste management equipment rather than wait on government support.

Speaking on Observer AM, Francis said the tourism sector is the country’s biggest contributor to waste. She argued it should therefore lead efforts to improve recycling and waste reduction.

Francis is proposing that hotels, bars and restaurants each contribute toward a joint fund to purchase a machine that converts glass into sand, with individual hotels asked to give $10,000 each. The wider initiative, which also includes composting equipment and a building to house the operation, is expected to cost around $300,000.

“The idea is that $300,000, we shouldn’t wait on the government. Each hotel, bar, restaurant, we’re gonna give the money to Tourism Authority. We’re gonna buy the machine. And then as a country, we can now brand that we are now collectively doing better when it comes to waste management,” Francis said.

She said Good Humans 268 Inc. has already been working with Galley Bay Resort over the past three months, conducting green team training, staff training and waste audits, with plans to extend the programme to other properties.

“I’ve actually reached out to the Tourism Authority, and I believe that tourism is our biggest waste contributors. All of these hotels, shout out to Galley Bay. We’ve been partnering with Galley Bay for the last, at least three months. We went in and we did green team trainings, and then we did trainings with the other staff. And that is what we’re now pushing for all of the other hotels. After we do your training, we also come in and do a waste audit. So we’re now gonna tell you, these are the things that you can do,” Francis said.

Francis said a meeting with the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority is set for July 23rd, when she will present the proposal to representatives of the hospitality industry.

She pointed to four landfill fires and an oil spill this year as evidence of the urgency of the problem.