Solid Waste Management Office are expanding the glass bottle and metal can recycling center, plans to make it a tourist attraction revealed. The center will be up and running by October this year.
The building will have different display sections, and the idea of the building is to provide a bigger space for people to receive training and learn how to make artifacts out of glass.
Balty Sikyang who works as a supervisor for Community Education Section at SWM said, “It can be a form of tourism where tour companies can bring visitors over who can experience firsthand Palau’s recycling efforts.”
SMW is already providing glass courses for people and hopes to help out the local artists build their capacity to have their own small business.
“We don’t ship out the glass bottles bought from the public, this will be way of taking care of the materials we receive,” Sikyang said.
There will be five new hiring for the glass studio that is currently in process of being constructed. The center will have two floors, the ground will be the recycling center and the top will be an admin office.
A fee might be collected from tourists who wish to visit the recycling center as a utilities fee. Sikyang said that this fee, if at all collected, will be small amount to pay.
SWM’s initiative of recycling used glass bottles and metal cans by buying it from the public at 0.5 cents has got a heavy response from the community up till now.
Sikyang said, “I really encourage people to take part in this project, it is one of the ways we can save our island.”