Sarkis Yammine is the spokesperson of the Yammine Foundation, an organization that has the environmental line of action as one of its main priorities, and in May 17th, the International Day of Recycling commented on the benefits of this activity.
“Recycling is a great opportunity that no country should waste. From every point of view, it is beneficial, it contributes to saving energy, reducing pollution, saving raw materials, reducing the volume of waste, preserving natural resources and generating income and employment ” said Yammine.
He added that in order to obtain the benefits of recycling it is necessary to create awareness in society. “That is what we have been doing at the Yammine Foundation. The “Our Beaches” project is an example of what we can do from the private initiative to improve our environment, “he said.
He explained that said project consists of spreading the culture of recycling in the coast´s populations of Venezuela. To this end, the population of Chuspa in the state of Vargas has served as a pilot plan to be later expanded to other communities.
“In Chuspa we have managed to get the community, the students, the fishermen, the athletes and the Catholic Church together into this recycling project. We have given talks in the educational centers and in the town square, we have given them containers for the separation of waste material and we are creating a whole culture around recycling, “said Yammine.
The spokesperson for the Yammine Foundation added that today the community is responsible for the collection of the material and the Foundation drives it to processing centers for the recycling material and the money from the material collected is reinvested in the communities. “It’s a whole life cycle where we all win: We remove waste that contaminates beaches and streets, we raise awareness among the population about the importance of preserving the environment, generating income for the same population and materials are reused,” he said.
During the collection days of this year, 334.32 kg of plastic, 3599.22 kg of glass and 168.98 kg of paper and cardboard have been accumulated. This initiative has benefited the entire population of Chuspa, which currently has about four thousand inhabitants.
He explained that also in the cities, the Yammine Foundation has carried out its recycling program and recently an alliance was signed between the Foundation and the Hotel Pestana in Caracas for the collection of plastic and glass. Only in the first week the hotel staff collected 310 kg of glass. As part of the exchange, the Yammine Foundation delivered two collection stations, one for glass and another for plastic, to facilitate the differentiation of materials.
Unesco stated that on May 17th every year activities would be promoted to encourage the recycling and consumption of products made from recycled materials. This day was instituted in Texas in 1994 and in 1997 it had already spread throughout the United States. In 1998 in Mexico, the border states of Baja California, Coahuila and Nuevo León joined this celebration.
Leave a Comment