This has created a huge market for things that usually end up in a landfill: candy wrappers, boxes, bottles, cans and scrap metals.
In small islands like Saipan, solid waste management is important because a growing population means an increasing trash production in a limited land area.
This is why the government is urging residents to reuse, reduce and recycle.
According to Lydia Parks, operation manager of Rising Star Mans Joint Venture, they gather an average of 50 metric tons of recyclable materials each month. The slow economy is not helping to produce much needed recyclable materials, she added.
Rising Star Mans J operates the transfer station in Lower Base.
Parks, who has been in the recycling business in the CNMI since 2001, said five Asian countries are willing to buy Saipan’s recyclable materials: Japan, China, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan.
But Rising Star Mans is not making money out of the old corrugated cardboards, old newspapers and office paper due to high shipping costs.
With a population of only 60,000, Saipan is too small to meet the international demand for recyclable materials.
“The volume of recyclable materials we produce is too small compared to other foreign countries,” Parks said.
Their company usually ships, more or less, 100 metric tons every other month.
Another factor that limits Rising Star Mans’ deals with the huge market of recyclable materials is the lack of a grading system.
Parks said this can only be possible if solid wastes coming to the transfer station are segregated so “high grade” recyclables like office paper can be sorted out.
But because of the limited amount and the lack of initiative on the part of households to segregate the trash, striking a long-term deal with any of the foreign markets is just very hard to achieve, she added.
“We just combine everything and see which country will accept our recyclable materials then we negotiate for a lower shipping cost,” Parks said.
She said recycling should be an obligation of every resident.
“Public awareness, education and commitment to recycle helps protect our ailing environment, gives more cell space at the landfill, and gives Mother Nature time to heal,” she added.
Major industries all over the world have opened their doors to recyclables, she said, and this should make everybody realize that there are so many better places for trash other than the land and the ocean.
Parks said her company’s operation is prolonging the life of Saipan’s only landfill.
“If people will just start to segregate, less and less trash will end up in the landfill,” she added. “This will result in a bigger volume of recyclables that can be shipped off-island. And because all recyclables are supposed to be dropped at the transfer station, the less trash you dump the less tipping fee you have to pay for.”
Rising Star Mans is urging all residents to segregate their trash and avoid littering. “Let’s keep our island clean and beautiful,” Parks said.
