Improving Waste Separation in Barbados

A small island developing state located in the Caribbean, Barbados is an increasingly popular tourist destination.

In 2015, the island received over 1.3 million visitor arrivals. While this growing visitation brings added economic benefits for island residents, it also results in environmental and waste management concerns. As is a common issue in small island developing states, landfill space is limited in Barbados. This makes it extremely important for residents and tourists to engage in waste reduction and recycling practices. Despite recycling facilities on the island, waste separation systems at Barbados’ ports of entry and major tourist attractions are either insufficient or lacking entirely. This means that a significant amount of materials that could be recycled, such as plastic bottles and aluminum cans, are instead ending up in landfills.

Our Role

As part of Barbados’ participation in the Sustainable Destinations Alliance for the Americas (SDAA), an action-planning workshop was conducted to identify and address key environmental, social, and economic issues within the destination. During this workshop, local stakeholders prioritized an action project focused on tackling waste management issues within the destination.

To reduce the amount of recyclable materials going to landfills, this project will establish waste separation systems at high traffic areas such as Barbados’ ports of entry and major tourist attractions. In addition, waste audits will be conducted and recycling receptacles will be procured and installed in the designated locations. These activities will be supported by awareness raising programs to encourage local residents and tourists to utilize the new system to properly dispose of their waste.