DILI, 09 november 2022 (TATOLI) – The non-governmental organization Mercy Corps and the company Caltech, together with the Ministry of Tourism, Commerce, and Industry (MTCI), today, launched tiles made out of plastic waste.
The demonstration of the process of transforming plastic waste into usable construction materials was held at the Farol Lighthouse Garden, in Dili. During the demonstration event, Mercy Crops and Caltech presented recycled products with an emphasis on returning plastic waste into usable building materials.
The National Director of Mercy Corps, Jules Keane, informed that the demonstration event aimed at raising public awareness of the negative impact of waste from plastic on the environment and the importance of recycled products for development.
“The reason Mercy Corps is partnering with Caltech to come up with this project is that plastic waste is a global problem. We need collective action to reduce plastic waste to make the environment cleaner and more comfortable for everyone,” Keane said during the launch of the project in Dili.
She encouraged individuals or groups to bring plastic waste to the Caltech recycling center to be turned into building materials to contribute to Timor-Leste’s Zero Plastics Policy.
Keane revealed that “since the implementation of the project in 2019, Mercy Corps has recycled about 25 tons of plastic waste, mostly in Dili.”
When asked about the amount of budget for the project, the director informed that “the budget is not important: “What is essential is our collaboration, coordination, and collective effort in reducing plastic waste in Timor-Leste.”
Caltech’s environmental engineer, Santina Moniz, said the company supplied four thousand tiles, which were later installed in the lighthouse garden, resulting in around three hundred kilos of plastic rubbish being collected in Dili.
“The products derived from plastic waste are mixed with sand and bottle shards. We produce 500 tiles a day,” he explained.
The Director General of the Ministry of Tourism, Commerce, and Industry (MTCI), Jelino Soares, pointed out that this project is one of the examples of the benefits of recycling plastic waste into construction materials.
“The Farol Lighthouse Garden was the first public space to use recycled products. I thank the development partners who contributed and supported the reuse and recycling of the plastic waste in Dili municipality.”
Soares hoped that Mercy Corps and its partners will extend the project to other municipalities in order to help support the Government, particularly in achieving the Zero Plastics Policy.
Present at the tile-laying ceremony at the Farol Lighthouse Garden, including Mercy Corps, Caltech, Heineken, JICA, KOICA, USAID, and the European Union (EU).
The European Union has supported around $35,000 for the reusable and recycling project.
Journalist: José Belarmino De Sá
Editor: Nelia Borges
