The Jua Kali plastic recycling pilot. What worked?

Published on January 19, 2026

Last month, JUA KALI formally closed Phase I of the Pop-Up Depots pilot with a public press briefing, placing the results and lessons of the pilot on public record.

Over the course of thirty-three (33) depot days, 31,688 metric tonnes of recyclable material were collected across multiple waste streams.

The pilot generated short-term green employment and produced detailed operational data on participation rates, material quality, logistics, staffing, and downstream handling - data that is rarely available in Caribbean waste recovery systems.

The briefing marked a deliberate shift in emphasis: away from celebrating collection as an endpoint, and toward an evidence-based discussion of what it takes to complete the recovery chain in a small-island context.

The focus was on transparency: what worked, what strained, and what the data revealed about system readiness.

Meanwhile, the Saint Lucia Waste Management Authority recently convened a national consultation on proposed amendments to the Waste Management Act. It is expected to include for the first time, a comprehensive framework for recycling, resource recovery, extended producer responsibility, financing mechanisms, and national waste data systems. Source Jua Kali Newsletter