Since taking the Master Composter Recycler (MCR) course through the City of Edmonton, I have become more aware of everything to do with waste wherever I go. A few months ago I was visiting Nassau, the capital of The Bahamas. I had just finished drinking a cold beverage and was looking around for a plastic recycling bin. I asked a nearby vendor where I could find a recycling bin and she told me to throw it inside the garbage as there were no recycling bins around.

Even though I didn’t find anyone who could tell me how they deal with waste, the fact that recycling bins were a rare sight meant that their waste management wasn’t yet vigilant or responsible on recycling.

I also visited the island of Exuma which is less remote than Nassau. During a conversation with a local resident I was told that there is no sewage system. A service truck visits each household collecting all the bio waste and a separate truck collects the garbage. One of the reasons that they use sceptic tanks is because homes are very far apart and it would be too expensive to install all the pipelines throughout the entire island to have an adequate sewer system.

I also looked everywhere for recycling bins here but didn’t see a single bin. However, on the day of my departure while at the airport, a sign caught my eye. There was a simple hand written statement to encourage people to pick up caps, bottles and cans. Since the main income generator to the economy is tourism it’s no wonder that the campaign is centred around preserving the ocean and its species.