Turning litter into beautiful decor.
Many people help the environment by recycling; however, more can always be done. That’s where No Waste Caribbean Vibes comes in! They take plastic that would end up in the landfill on Bonaire and turn it into unique reusable items for your home or office.
Types of recycled plastic.
While some may think you can recycle all plastic, that is not the case. Plastic items have a triangle with a number listed on the bottom of each item. This information helps to decipher the differences between types of plastic.
No Waste Caribbean Vibes currently uses two types of plastic, type 2 HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene Sheets) and type 5 PP (Polypropylene). Both types of plastic can be off-white but to create the fancy colors people love, they are always on the lookout for bright colors of plastic type 2 or 5.
Making items out of trash is a tedious task.
To make beautiful items, there are some important steps that need to take place. The first step important steps is the fact that the plastic needs to be cleaned. So please consider cleaning your plastics before recycling. Lucky Luke, co-founder of No Waste Caribbean Vibes, cleans ocean plastic which takes up quite some time to make it suitable for new projects.
Then, it’s time to break down the plastic into smaller parts. At this stage, it typically goes into the shredder and turned into granulates that are separated by colors for upcoming projects.
I have a beautiful green bowl for a pop of color in my living room as well as four coasters. Two of the coasters showcase the island of Bonaire and the other two have scuba divers on them. They also have coasters available for other water sports such as windsurfing and kitesurfing! There are also quite a few local businesses that have ordered custom pieces such as wall clocks, clipboards, and of course, coasters throughout the island.
The story behind No Waste Caribbean Vibes.
Lucky Luke has been living on Bonaire for quite a few years. At first, he was a guide at the Mangrove Info Center. During his years working in Lac Cai, he noticed a decent amount of litter in the area. He began to clean the area and basically adopted the road. Over the next few years, he picked up trash along the road almost daily.
In 2016, he met Charlotte, co-founder of No Waste Caribbean Vibes. As they got to know each other, their ideas began to meld together. Between 2020 and 2021, they collected the needed equipment, acquired a workshop that was graciously donated by a friend, and in July 2022, No Waste Caribbean Vibes was born.
Over the last year, Charlotte and Lucky Luke have continued running their business together with Lucky Luke full time on Bonaire and Charlotte splits her time between Bonaire and The Netherlands.With regular brain storming meetings, they are always coming up with new ways to reuse plastic. They also have two volunteers that help make specific items.
How to purchase their items.
No Waste Caribbean Vibes is often at the Tera Cora Market and every two weeks, Lucky Luke holds a sale at his home. Just contact him on their No Waste Caribbean Vibes Facebook page or browse their catalog on WhatsApp.
Would you like to create your own masterpiece? Sign up for one of their workshops, bring in your own washed plastic, and learn how to make recycled art.
The latest masterpiece.
Are you curious about their newest item? They have a brand-new addition to their growing catalog. Take a look at the video below and see for yourself! Wouldn’t you like to get your hands on one (or four) of these beauties!
