Recycling Spots in the Islands: Few and Far Between

A couple of houses with nice arrays of solar panels

 

Sailors tend to be avid recyclers, perhaps because we are quite aware of exactly how much space packing and trash take up in our small lockers. Unfortunately, in the islands there are few opportunities for recycling. The French islands are the exception. We knew we would be heading to Martinique, so we’d been saving our glass bottles and jars, and had quite a bag-full by the time we arrived (although I swear that someone else has been sneaking extra wine bottles into the bag, because we can’t have drank all that). In a blog last year, I also noted that the French seem to be way ahead of the other islands in alternative energy; solar panels are not an uncommon sight on the French islands, as well as wind generators. Perhaps it’s because the French islands actually still belong to France and benefit budget-wise, whereas many of the other islands have gained their independence, and must eek out their own income. Whatever the circumstances, it’s nice to be able to use recycling again instead of the trash.