St. Vincent and the Grenadines Looking to Use Volcanic Ash to Develop Products

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent –The St Vincent and the Grenadines government is challenging inventors within academia and private enterprise to explore the potential of using plastics, and possibly volcanic ash, as raw materials in the production of useful products.

Plumes of ash billow from the La Soufrière volcano on the island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines which started erupting on 9th April. Photo taken by Navin Pato Patterson (UN)The government says the “Recycling Innovation Challenge: Recycling at an Island Level,” challenge is open to national, regional and international stakeholders and is hopeful that it would yield a range of ideas and concepts. It remains open until September 11. The winner will be announced at the end of September.

Plastic waste constitutes a significant percentage of pollutants posing a threat to the region’s marine space and St. Vincent and the Grenadines says it is still grappling with the extensive socio-economic impacts resulting from the April 2021 eruption of La Soufriere Volcano.

It said volcanic ash is another major pollutant to air quality and ecosystem health.

“Therefore, the purpose of the challenge is to support research that addresses the problems caused as a result of plastic waste and whose solutions are suitable to the context of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), such that they can make an important contribution in reducing plastic waste, at a local, national and regional level.”

Kingstown said that the winning proposal will receive a grant of US$20,000, funded under the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) project, Building Resilience in the Eastern Caribbean through Reduction of Marine Litter and Pollution Project (ReMLit), a three-year project being implemented by the OECS with funding from the Norway government.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines is one of six OECS member states funded under ReMLit to implement country level projects which directly contribute to the aim of reducing marine litter.

The island’s project, titled “Partnering to Combat Land-Based Sources of Pollution and Improve Ocean Ecosystem Health in St. Vincent and the Grenadines,” is a two-year project aimed at reducing land-based sources of marine pollution by increasing local recycling of plastic waste through public-private partnership.

A key strategy of the project is to facilitate action by the public, private sector and civil society stakeholders.

“The winner’s grant of US$20,000 grant will fund the development of the selected proposal for demonstration purposes. Adjudicators of the challenge are scrutinizing submissions for possible creative use(s), novel ideas and solutions, potential to reduce social impacts of plastic, and if possible volcanic ash for diversification of agricultural input products with export potential, possible contribution to economic growth, creation of livelihoods, and the involvement of communities,” according to a statement issued here.

It said proposals can also seek to build on existing relevant research to bridge any knowledge gaps and provide workable solutions.

The government has recalled the success of plastic reuse with ash to produce building bricks in the Philippines, after the eruption of Taal volcano in that country on January, 12, last year.