Haiti Zero Plastic

In Haiti, the production of plastics is estimated at several million tons per year due to the high consumption of treated water, non-alcoholic drinks and take-out dishes sold in plastic containers. A very small proportion of these plastics are recycled. No need to go over the consequences.

ENTR'HAITI proposes to eliminate the use of single-use plastics and to recycle others. Our innovative solution is to create collection banks in neighborhoods and distribute kits in households and institutions. By using an application, each household/institution will keep in touch with the manager of the collection bank in the nearest neighborhood. The plastics, sorted in the collection bank where there is a craft workshop which will transform them into useful products. Plastics not used by artisans will be sent to recycling companies. With our social business model, jobs will be created. We are also acting for the ecological awareness among Haitians.

Haiti Zero Plastic is getting implemented during its pilot phase in Gonaïves. Gonaïves, the city of independence of Haiti with approximately 300 inhabitants, is very frequently subjected to the risks of floods. Twice, in 2004 and 2008, the city was submerged, thus forcing its reconstruction, which is expected to the present day. In 2007, the municipal budget corresponded to 1.5 € per inhabitant per year. The means to manage waste, especially plastics, are lacking. A recent study estimates the production of waste at around one hundred tonnes a day. The municipality collects waste, without sorting them, only in the center of the city. In the outlying districts, wild dumps have been created and most of the waste is burned, all categories mixed.

So, in Haiti in general and in Gonaives in particular, the tons of plastics used are not recycled and are mixed with any other type of waste in landfills. Our solution emphasizes each citizen to succeed in developing an ecological conscience in order to protect the ecosystem.

Plastics come mainly from bottles made to contain carbonated and energy drinks and water treated by reverse osmosis, sachets of water and take-out dishes sold in plastic materials.

Haiti Zero Plastic runs in institutions (schools, universities, public services...) and disadvantaged areas of Gonaives: Raboteau, Jubilé, Trou-sable and Praville. In these districts, there is no service of collection of wate, one cannot speak about recycling. Plastics are burnt or dumped directly into the sea.

As part of the project entitled "PEDALE POU LAVI" in Haitian Creole, translated by Pedaling for life in English, ENTR'HAITI has already worked with the direct beneficiaries of the project. They understood the need to eliminate the single-use plastics and the economic benefits the recyclable one can bring.
PEDALE POU LAVI is a project to protect the environment where ENTR'HAITI educates the inhabitants of Gonaives to use bicycles for short journeys and the use of metal bottles instead of plastic bottles.

The solution responds to the problems without requiring great efforts on their part. They only have to develop an ecological conscience to always take care to deposit the recyclable plastics used in the kits available at their home and / or their workplace. In addition, they will receive compensation for the income from revaluation and recycling.

Haiti Zero Plastic is a project mainly focused on the collection of plastics, because we do not have the means to directly limit the use of single-use plastics. However, we are organizing programs to raise user awareness and brainstorming forums with manufacturers, importers and public authorities.

The project is started with awareness campaigns with grassroots organizations, in social and traditional media, in schools and universities. These awareness campaigns will aim to encourage users to use products whose packaging is not plastic because of the harmful consequences of plastic for the environment. Immediately after the awareness sessions, we will set up collection banks.

A person belonging to a household or an institution has to create a profile through our mobile application -this step is not yet implemented-, then they receive one or more collection kits depending on the number of people frequenting this place. Once the kits have been filled, a notification will be sent to the manager of the nearest neighborhood collection bank so that they can collect them. So it results in the creation of a collection bank in the neighborhoods where the plastics will be sorted. After sorting, artisans have to transform some of the plastics into useful products such as office furniture, backpacks, shoes, jewelry and smartphone covers. Those not used in the revaluation are sent to Plastic Bank, the leader in recycling in Haiti.

The activities bypassing Haiti Zero Plastic will not stop there. Once this structure is in place, we will organize a monthly discussion forum with importers, manufacturers and public authorities to see to what extent we can gradually reduce the use of plastics for packaging products.

Our suppliers, namely the households and the octons of the institutions, receive a counterpart of the income derived from the revaluation and the sale from Plastic Bank. Several direct jobs are creating by the recruitment of artisans, administrative and marketing staff, managers of community plastics banks.

As already mentioned, as a non-profit organization, ENTR'HAITI does not have the full power to force people to adopt such or such other behavior towards plastics. The innovation is mainly at the level of collection and communication. For collection, we manage what our collection method discreetly imposes while offering certain advantages to the people in charge of the kit. To solve the plastics problem in Haiti, we need the infrastructure and the awareness of the inhabitants. We put the structure in the spaces frequented by people. Awareness sessions are organized to motivate residents while offering them a financial advantage after the recycling and the revaluation. Our communication system is based on the use of a smartphone, which is found everywhere in today's households.

The board of directors of ENTR'HAITI is made up of 5 members who work part-time on the project. There are three other contractors who work full time on the project.

Our team of 8 members come from the different areas of implementation of the project. In addition, our team includes professionals in Sociology, communication, planning and environmental protection. No need to recount the full success of the project "PEDALE POU LAVI = PEDALING FOR LIFE" which consists of using reusable metal bottles instead of plastic bottles.

Our partners are the Association Tonnelle Action (ATA), the Professional School of Gonaïves (EPG) and Haiti Plastic Bank.

ATA is also a non-profit association aimed at promoting environmental protection and volunteering. It is the partner who is very useful for raising awareness.

EPG is in the process of establishing a craft industry working in the plastic arts. It is the school that will refer us to the best craftsmen for the upgrading of plastics.

We send plastics that we are unable to transform to the leader in recycling in Haiti, Plastic Bank.

Our main barrier regarding the implementation of Haiti Zero Plastic is to find the necessary resources (financial and material). Receiving funding from IDB Group will be an essential boost in implementing all stages of the project. Currently, the project only works in three schools in Gonaïves and two craftsmen are in charge of upgrading them, the 60,000 USD will make it possible to establish the project in more areas.