The Department of Environmental Health (DEH) accepts paper (including photocopy paper, cereal boxes, newspapers, cardboard, and CLEAN pizza boxes), glass (including bottles, flatware, stemware, and ceramics), some plastics such as water bottles, detergent bottles, and anything marked with a 1 or 2 on the bottom, as well as aluminum (including soda cans, food tins, and cooking foil).

It is very important that all items are reasonably clean or they will be considered contaminated and may not be recycled. Also, do not throw your recycling into the bins in plastic bags...throw it in loose - plastic bags are considered contaminants as well.

Magazines are not accepted for reycling but, instead of throwing them away, try contacting the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands for drop-off, where they can be put to good use in art projects.

Recyclables are collected by the DEH from various drop-off bins around the island, which include the major grocery stores: Foster's and Kirk's,  BarCam Service Station (248 Hurley Merren Boulevard, Prospect) and several locations in the outer districts (see list here).

Sorting and drop-off is currently the responsibility of individuals and companies on the island. If you would like to get a recycling program going at your workplace, just purchase a few colour-coded garbage bins and bin liners, place signage on them, and get a couple of dedicated people to collect and drop off the reyclables regularly. Some private companies can also be hired to pick up your recyclables. Try calling Junk or Island Waste Carriers.

For more information on what is accepted for recycling and details on drop-off locations, go to the DEH website.

Photo courtesty of the Cayman Compass

There is a somewhat discouraging rumour circulating on the island that the DEH is simply putting our carefully sorted recycling straight into the landfill. This is false. The recycling is indeed stored at the landfill until sufficient quantities are collected, then they are shipped to a broker in Florida.

In truth, the DEH diverts approximately 7,500 lbs of recycling from the landfill per week!

If you would like to arrange a tour of the landfill to see this programme in action, please contact the DEH at 949-6696.

Yes, inside the doors of the major supermarkets there are receptacles for dry cell batteries (e.g.: AA, AAA, D). If you collect a large amount (over 5 gallons), you can call the DEH for pick-up at 949-8793. Car batteries are also recycled and can be dropped off at the landfill, which has a 24-hour drop-off area for all types of recyclables at the entrance.

Organic material is kept separated, and it is mulched along with wooden shipping pallets to be used as part of the fill used to cover the garbage on top of the landfill.

Waste-to-energy is technology whereby landfill waste is incinerated at high temperature, causing very little air pollution while generating electricity.  Countries like Denmark, Sweden and Luxembourg (where land is a scarce resource) have been using this technology successfully for years.

There is no perfect solution to getting rid of our 🗑. On a small island like Grand Cayman, we cannot run our own plastic and paper recycling factories, composting is not practical unless we have friends with large gardens or farms, and it is not cost-effective to ship everything off-island (and actually, what other countries really want our waste anyway?!). 🤔

The waste-to-energy (WtE) plant Government is planning to have operational by 2026 will be a big part of the overall solution to getting rid of the Cayman Islands' waste, called the "Integrated Solid Waste Management System" (ISWMS). The Department of Environmental Health still wants us to separate and recycle what we can (paper, cardboard, plastic containers, aluminum, tin cans, glass), and commercial garden waste will still be composted. The rest of our waste will be used as fuel for the WtE incinerator, kicking 7.6 megawatts of power into the CUC grid. 

In order for the ISWMS to work, the people of the Cayman Islands need to do their part:

💡 Step 1: reduce consumption (pay attention to how much plastic packaging and other needless waste we bring home with us that inevitably ends up in the trash; buy more in bulk).

💡 Step 2: separate and recycle what we can (this is still vital to the ISWMS as not everything should be incinerated; just the materials we cannot do anything else with).

💡 Step 3: only trash things we absolutely do not need (give unwanted items to friends, charity) and send the rest to be incinerated and turned into energy to power the island.

Read more about WtE and ISWMS on the Department of Environmental Health’s FAQs page at www.deh.gov.ky. 

Parks and Recreation takes care of the garbage cans at Public Beach Access points on Grand Cayman.

Contact Crosby Solomon on 925 4715.

Photo courtesy of Cayman Compass