After a second atypical year with lots of changes on the national and international level, Thierry Malabar, Project Manager at BEM Recycling, gives us a brief review of 2021 and tells us about BEM Recycling’s future projects.
• After a hard year due to a second confinement, what conclusions do you draw for the year 2021?
2021 has been full of twists and turns. Like many companies, we had to adapt and reinvent ourselves.
Nevertheless, we have observed a change in the mind set from both companies and households. The idea of recycling all types of WEEE is becoming more popular.
Today, we are talking about concepts like classification, sorting, circular economy, up-cycling or even sustainable development. These terms demonstrate to us, that today’s society wants to move towards a better waste management.
• You mentioned the notion of waste, so tell us more about the collection of glass set up at the end of last year.
In November, we established collection points with our partners and friends at The Charity Centre, situated at Tamarin and The Good Shop with their three stores in Calebasses, Curepipe and Belle-Rose.
The question here is to maintain continuity and to propose local solutions for the collection and recycling of glass waste found in every household.
Our friends from Mission Verte and Precious Plastic have also contributed to the movement by providing us with glass collected after various cleaning campaigns or their daily collections.
Thanks to these collaborations, more than 2.5 tons of glass waste has been recovered and recycled properly instead of ending up in landfill or simply dumped in nature. As such, we would like to extend a heartfelt thank you!!
• A large number of increasing wild dumps are still being observed across the island. Do you think there has been a real change in Mauritian mentalities with regard to waste and, in a broader sense, to the protection of the environment?
Unfortunately, even though there is a change in the mindset/attitude over the past few years, we still find many wild dumps in the vicinity of main roads. There is a form of “poaching” where some informal recyclers will collect your waste freely or at a low price for disposal and instead they will just dump it in river banks, sugar cane fields etcetera after removal of valuable materials.
It is necessary to pay attention to such details as the transport and the proper recycling of waste has a cost. It is important to question collectors/recyclers to understand their activities and do not trust the cheapest offer.
• What are your objectives for 2022?
We have registered a good start for 2022 and the main objective is to keep focusing on a local recycling, promote a green and Mauritian economy, communicate as much as possible on good practices and, above all, develop reliable education for the young generation.
We also aim to set up the creation of an eco-organization for the good management and governance of our waste which will include various stakeholders such as importers of electrical products, distributors, the State…
Mauritius forms part of the SIDS (Small Island Developing States), we can no longer afford to depend on other countries as witnessed with the current health crisis. It is important to create awareness and to promote the principle of proximity when it comes to waste management.
• BEM Recycling has now been around for almost 25 years, where do you see the company in the next 20 years?
As with many companies that advocate local production and local know-how, 2022 will be a year of transition. We hope to still be present on the Mauritian market and above all to be able to process the many WEEE generated in order to avoid illegal dumping and to continue to bring our sizable contribution to the circular economy and the environment.
We can no longer rely on an economy considered opportunistic based on a short-term vision. The recycling process that we have been practising for almost 25 years must be carried out with a sincere educational approach with a long-term vision. This is why at BEM Recycling we will always advocate a local economy.