FAQ Sheet 1. What is the icare project? a. The icare project is the EMA s National Recyclable Solid Waste Collection Project (NRSWCP) that aims to: i. Establish infrastructure, namely pilot depots and collection sites across Trinidad to connect communities to recycling facilities ii. iii. Encourage and build an attitude of conservation and recycling through an educational recycling campaign. Reduce the amount of waste indiscriminately disposed of in the environment or sent to the landfill. 2. What does icare stand for? a. icare is an acronym for Community. Awareness. Recycling. Everyday. 3. What is recycling? a. Recycling is the process of converting waste into a reusable material, thereby decreasing the total amount of waste produced. 4. Why should I recycle? a. Recycling is extremely beneficial to our environment. It improves the aesthetics and cleanliness of our surroundings. It also reduces the risk of flooding and the amount of solid waste at landfills. 5. Who is Ronnie the Recycler? a. Ronnie the Recycler is the mascot for the icare project. He will be visiting collection sites and conducting promotional activities to help educate the public on the icare project. 6. What is the National Week of Recycling? a. The National Week of Recycling is a nationwide week-long event, promoted by the icare project that encourages and educates citizens to recycle. The week began on the 15 th and 16 th August, with distribution of garbage bags at Trincity Mall and Price Plaza, respectively. Throughout the week, citizens are encouraged to fill
these clear distributed bags with appropriate recyclable material. The weekends with the Weekend of Collection, where on the 22 nd and 23 rd 2015 there would be residential curbside collection of these recyclable materials placed in the provided clear plastic bags. The second weekend of collection is August 29 th and 30 th, 2015. 7. When is National Recycling Week? a. National Recycling Week is from Monday 24th August to Sunday 30th August. 8. What do I have to do for National Recycling Week? a. The public is asked to collect, rinse and bag recyclable materials during the week and place them curbside in transparent bags (along the street) by 6am on Saturday 29th August and Sunday 30th August, 2015 for collection. 9. What type of materials will be collected? a. The following materials will be collected for recycling: i. Plastic material ii. Glass material iii. Metal/aluminium material iv. Tetra-packs 10. Would my recyclables be picked up at curbside garbage collection? a. Recyclables will ONLY be collected at curbside on the Weekend of collection, on August 29 th and 30 th. Transparent garbage bags ONLY will be collected. Thereafter, the recycler can drop off prepared recyclables at the designated collection sites and depots nationwide. 11. I live in a very remote area. Are you sure I should leave it outside my house? a. Yes. We are doing a complete island wide collection - every street from Toco to Icacos. 12. Who will be collecting the bags of recyclables? a. The EMA has partnered with CEPEP to collect the bags of recyclables. If CEPEP personnel are seen taking your recyclables, rest assured that it has been captured by icare. 13. Do I need to use a particular bag? a. Yes. Only transparent bags will be collected on collection days. This is because we are asking persons to use transparent bags (regardless of colour) so that the collectors can identify recyclables from typical household waste.
14. Where can I obtain plastic bags? a. EMA branded transparent plastic bags will be distributed free of charge at various locations throughout the National Week of Recycling from the 24 th August to 30 th August, 2015. Any other transparent plastic bag can also be used. b. After the Weekend of Collection on August 29 th and 30 th, persons can drop off their materials at designated depots and collection sites. Transparent garbage bags ONLY will be preferred. 15. Black garbage bags are the only ones I have at home. Can't I just use these? a. No. While we do not want to exclude anyone who is keen on recycling, collecting black bags poses too great of a logistical challenge during the weekend of collection since most people use them for mixed waste. The EMA will be providing clear green garbage bags to the public at select locations leading up to the event. Also, green and transparent bags are readily available at most grocery stores and at our North office (#8 Elizabeth Street, St. Clair) and South office (3rd Floor, Agate Building, #2 Adesh Drive, SS Erin Road, Duncan Village, San Fernando). 16. Do I have to bag each kind of material separately? a. No. All targeted materials can be placed into the same bag. As long as recyclables are separated from non-recyclables, they will be collected. 17. Would my bags be left behind if I include paper, styrofoam or small electronic items along with the target items? a. Yes. Your bags will NOT be collected. Later on in this project there will be opportunities to recycle them. 18. What about food scraps? a. No. No bag containing food scraps or non-recyclable household waste will be collected by icare. 19. What if my bags are torn by stray animals? a. Collection teams will only pick up bagged items so to minimize animal interference we are asking that people rinse their recyclables if it has come into contact with any food or drink before bagging it. 20. What about a case of empty plastic bottles? Can I just leave those out? a. No. Our collection teams will only pick up bagged items in clear plastic bags.
21. I don't think I can fill an entire bag before the collection days so why bother? a. That is okay! The bag does not have to be completely full to be collected. Given the relatively short notice to participate we expect that most bags will not be filled. We still encourage you separate your household recyclables because there will be future curbside recycling events as well as public collection points in the future! 22. My garbage is normally collected on a Saturday, how can I ensure that it does not end up in the dump? a. The icare teams will be dispatched at 6 AM on both Saturday 29 th August and Sunday 30 th August. Simply put your recyclables out on Saturday night in transparent garbage bags so that it can be collected in the Sunday sweep. 23. I live in a townhouse/apartment building, what do I do? a. Talk to your landlord about this initiative and have him recommend a suitable location for this event. 24. What should I do if the weekend passes and my recyclables were not collected? a. If by Tuesday your recyclables have not been collected by icare or the usual waste disposal entities, post a picture to our Facebook page along with your street and we shall investigate and see that it is dealt with accordingly. 25. Will you always be doing curbside pick up? a. No. Residential curbside pick up is carded only for Saturday 29 th August and Sunday 30 th August, 2015. 26. Where can I take my recyclable waste to be recycled after the Weekend of Recycling? a. After the National Week of Recycling, recyclables will not be collected at curbside. They can be dropped off at certified icare partners such as select malls, beaches and grocery stores. At these collection sites you can drop off the following washed/cleaned and bagged recyclable materials: i. Plastic material ii. Glass material iii. Metal cans iv. Tetra-packs b. There will be five (5) collection depots location throughout Trinidad that can receive larger recyclable material, in addition to aforementioned materials, such as: i. Tires
ii. iii. Bulky e-waste (computers, printers etc.) Larger appliances (refrigerators, freezers etc.) 27. What should I do with my recyclables after recycling week? a. The EMA is partnering with dozens of businesses and organisations to install collection bins for recyclables throughout the country. In addition we would also be establishing depots to receive tires, bulky items, green waste and e-waste so look out for these locations when recycling week is over! 28. Do you only plan on collecting beverage containers? a. No. During the weekend of recycling, the following will be collected curbside: i. Plastic material ii. Glass material iii. Aluminum material iv. Tetra-paks Milk and juice packs b. After the weekend of recycling, the following can be dropped off at our national collection sites. i. Plastic material ii. Glass material iii. Aluminum material iv. Tetra-paks v. Paper waste vi. E-waste (depot only) vii. Tires (depot only) viii. Larger appliances (depot only) 29. What about e-waste, paper, green waste, tires and bulky electronics? a. During the weekend of collection those materials will not be targeted however; later on in this project there will be opportunities to recycle them. 30. What are some examples of recyclables? Some examples of plastic recyclables are: plastic bags, plastic cutlery and dinnerware, empty plastic bottles and caps and empty plastic containers Some examples of tetra-packs are: juice boxes and milk boxes Some examples of metal recyclables are: aluminum drink cans, tin cans from tinned food, any other metal tin or can receptacle and paint cans Some examples of glass recyclables are: glass bottles and glass receptacles
31. How can I prepare my waste to be recycled? a. All recyclable material must be thoroughly cleaned and placed in a transparent garbage bag and secured before dropping off at the designated collection site or depot. 32. Do I have to sort my recyclables? a. No, all recyclables can be placed into one garbage bag. Sorting is done at the depot facility. 33. What is e-waste? a. E-waste refers to electronic waste, specifically cellular phones and tablet devices 34. Where can I dispose of my e-waste? a. E-waste can be disposed of at any of the 5 main depots across Trinidad or at select icare collection partners. 35. How long is this initiative scheduled to last? a. The National Week of Recycling is carded for the 17 th to 30 th August, 2015. b. The Weekends of Collection is scheduled for the 29 th and 30 th August, 2015. c. Collection sites and depot facilities are established to collect recyclables throughout the rest of the year. 36. How do I register to become a collection site for recyclable waste in the future? a. Through EMA s website, a Site Application Form can be completed for any business establishment to become a future collection site. 37. What happens to my recyclables when you take them? a. They will be taken to one of our sorting depots where the contents will be sorted. The sorted materials will be sent to local recyclers who will process them before exporting it to foreign countries where they will be transformed into new products. 38. What is done at the recycling depots? a. At the recycling depots, all the recyclables from the collection sites, as well as recyclables dropped off by citizens directly, will be sorted and transported to the respective recycling facilities. 39. What becomes of the recyclables after the recycling depot? a. The sorted materials will be dispersed among local recycling bodies. For example, SWMCOL will be responsible for plastics, Carib Glass will be responsible for glass and Ace Recycling will be responsible for
paper waste. After which they will be exported on the recyclables market. 40. Do we have the facilities to recycle these items in Trinidad or do we ship the materials to America? a. At this time, Trinidad does not have the full scale facilities to recycle locally. However, the recyclables will be processed and packaged locally to be shipped abroad. 41. What kind of garbage bags can I use to dispose of my recyclables? a. You can dispose of your recyclables in any type of transparent garbage bag. Ensure that it is securely tied before dropping off at collection site. b. During the Weekend of Collection, curbside collection will target transparent garbage bags distributed by the EMA throughout the Week of Recycling, or any transparent plastic bag. 42. How often or on what days will recyclables be collected after the Weekend of Collection? a. After the Weekend of Collection, all recyclables will have to be taken directly to collection sites or the designated depots. They will no longer be collected at curbside. 43. When can I drop off my recyclables at collection sites or depots? a. The collection sites will have outdoor bins for collection of recyclables. Once the establishment is open for business, then recyclables can be dropped off. Stay tuned to our Facebook page to know when sites will be available and open to the public. 44. Is there a limit to the number of times I can drop off recyclables? a. There is no limit to the number of times you can drop off recyclables. You are encouraged to recycle as frequent as you like. 45. Can I dispose of large electronic appliances such as refrigerators? a. Yes. Larger appliances and electronics can be dropped off at one of the five (5) main collection depots, to be advertised. 46. What is the connection between the icare project and Plastikeep? a. The icare and the Plastikeep project are two separate initiatives geared toward recycling. The former is a countrywide government led initiative whereas the latter is a NGO led initiative. Unlike Plastikeep, the icare project covers collection of recyclables beyond plastics such as glass, paper, metal cans, tetra-packs, tires and e-waste.
47. Is the icare project the same as the Beverage Container Clean Up Project (BCCP)? a. No, the BCCP was a separate initiative of Project Tomorrow aimed at: i. Giving SWMCOL the capacity to process recyclable PET (polyethylene terephthalate) recyclable plastic bottles for export. ii. Collect beverage containers from the ambient environment The icare project builds on the achievement of the BCCP by developing pilot decentralized sorting Depots and Collection Sites throughout the country to connect communities to recycling companies. BCCP aimed to clean up whereas icare aims to change the attitude of waste disposal among citizens of Trinidad and Tobago. The icare project also aims to capture all recyclable materials, not only beverage containers. 48. Who can I contact with further questions? a. For further questions, you can contact the EMA at (868)285-4262/ (868) 628-8042 ext 4111/4112 or visit the EMA s website at www.ema.co.tt or visit Facebook @ICARE TT.