Valplast plastic recycling in Haiti

Valplast is a social business in Haiti that is focused on recycling plastic. The way Valplast recycles plastic is by mixing it with sand to be used as bricks which will be used to help build infrastructure in Haiti. It was started by the environmental activist Nel-Ange St. Cyr while she was doing her university studies.

Plastic has had a devastating impact on Haiti. Plastic bottles and food containers are common in the country, and rain washes a lot of it into the ocean, where it can kill fish, sea turtles and other marine life, and there are few plastic regulations in the country. Valplast's goal is to grow big enough to recycle 30 percent of the plastic clogging the streets of Haiti's capital.

My name is Everett Maass, a sophomore in high school in North Carolina. I discovered Valplast while working on a blog aimed at raising awareness for recycling. My goal is to raise 500 dollars which Valplast will use to provide a week of training in recycling plastic for 10 young people in Cite Soleil, a low income area within Haiti's capital, and buy the plastic they collect. This will help the environment and provide some jobs that people can do right in their own neighborhoods, so they can earn money safe from gang violence that is making life hard for everyone.

"The young people in Cite Soleil collect plastic in their own neighborhoods," Nel-Ange says. "When they are finished collecting it, they bring it to Valplast and we pay them, and they have something to live on."