Nov. 13, 2008 — The Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority (VIWMA) on Saturday will celebrate “America Recycles Day” with a series of activities.
Saturday the authority will accept aluminum cans, wire clothes hangers, ink cartridges, newspapers, magazines and books. These items will be collected in conjunction with the authority’s scheduled electronic, or e-waste, collection drive that is going on, and will only be accepted on Saturday at the E-Waste Collection site, listed below.
America Recycles Day is observed nationwide to raise awareness about the environmental, energy and economic benefits of recycling and buying products made of recycled materials. Gov. John deJongh Jr. proclaimed November “V.I. Recycles Month” to encourage residents to recycle and reuse items to reduce the amount of waste that enters the territory’s landfills.
The average American discards 4.6 pounds of garbage every day, according to the National Recycling Coalition, and most of that garbage ends up in landfills where it is compacted and buried. The average Virgin Islander discards more than 11 pounds of garbage daily.
Other recycling awareness programs planned by VIWMA include:
– “Don’t TRASH Your Cans, CASH Your Cans,” aluminum can collection contest for all elementary schools, which is being held through Nov. 28. Students in kindergarten through sixth grade can compete by collecting aluminum cans to be redeemed for cash. EZ Recycling on St. Croix and STS Recycling on St. Thomas and St. John will be working with VIWMA to collect and cash out the cans from the various schools. Prizes will be awarded for the most cans collected, and VIWMA will match the cost per pound for redemption.
– Electronic Waste (E-Waste) Collection Drive. E-waste will be collected from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday and Saturday at: St. Croix at VIWMA's office, 941-946 Williams Delight; St. Thomas at VIWMA's Warehouse 17, south of Nisky Center Shopping Center; and St. John at the Cruz Bay Bandstand.
– Recycling Fair. During the last day of the E-waste collection drive, residents can also bring the following items for recycling: aluminum cans, ink cartridges, wire clothes hangers, newspapers, magazines and books. These items will only be accepted on Saturday.
Further information can be obtained by calling the Office of Communications Management at 712-4950.
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