Atauro Site Visit | January 2020

30/1/2020

This Australia Day weekend I was able to travel to Timor Leste to review our initial PAAR marine plastics recycling project. Located on the island of Atauro.

Massive Trade Wind Marine Waste - 80% from 3 suppliers
Over the past three years significant work has been done to build local community awareness of plastic waste and today locals' teams collect marine plastic for recording in Australian Marine Debris Initiative (AMDI). To date, records show 80% of the recovered marine plastic waste originates from just three suppliers. In one 500m section of the beach the community have collected more than 2.5 tonnes of plastic waste (see photos).

Installing Precious Plastics 4 open source machines 6 Degrees from the equator
Each of the 4 machines are built using open-source mechanical designs created by precious plastics. Our machines were built by a small engineering shop in Indonesia, under the supervision of PAAR junior engineers.

In October 2019, this set of simple plastic recycling machines was transported to the Arturo Island and established within a purpose  built recycling facility.

Upcycling marine waste into domestic products that are sold to tourists
With the machines in place, Arturo community leader Barry Hinton engages local women to work alongside environmental scientists and volunteers to assess, record, clean and then sort the marine waste into coloured  material for upcycling.

Each item sold provides a daily wage and a sustainable income
Currently the emphasis is on the upcycled creation of chalices, bowls and small plastic tile. These simple craft pieces are sold to tourists and visitors. The sale of one item provides a sustainable daily wage for local women.

Preparing to build more assets
In the months ahead, as the team become more skilled, and new moulds are created, functional items including rulers for local schools will be produced ... along with an expansion in the range of plastic harvested.

Funding two more machines
Plastic As A Resource (paar) is now working to raise funds for a high speed shredder and extruder that will allow the community to produce beams, pipes and larger components to allow them to make furniture, guttering and other building materials. If you'd like to help, click here to be taken to the Facebook Fundraiser.

Notes: The carbon cost of PAAR travel & logistics are matched 100% with offsets via goldstandard.org