Lewis considers it a major green success story of Antigua Sailing Week 2018: “Introducing the reusable cups at all our events was challenging as it took 2 years for the idea to gain traction with the venues. Most of our patrons and partners are familiar with the idea of reusing their cup at a fete. But now we are seeing a much better understanding of why we need to remove, where possible, single use plastics, replacing them with a reusable rather than disposable option. It’s an ongoing education for both patrons and bar staff.”
The ASW Green Team, a group of select volunteers worked tirelessly alongside the National Parks Authority and National Solid Waste to provide effective waste management. In addition to being on hand during our afternoon events, they monitored the bins which were labelled for the consumer to easily identity where their waste should go (LANDFILL – RECYCLE – REUSE). Vendors of Wadadli Grill in the car park area were asked to separate their waste in the same manner. The Green Team then provided the thankless task of ensuring that collected recyclable materials were removed every morning from participating restaurants and businesses.
Green team monitoring bins
The 2018 Green Initiatives also placed great emphasis on the closed lobster season with a sustained campaign through briefings and an active social media campaign: ” When we first talked about supporting this programme, we were met with some derision from vendors, so we took the route of educating vendors and consumers and overall we believe there was a very significant shift. Although we did spot a few lobsters being sold, it was very small amount and this shows a significant swing in people’s understanding of the reason for the ban”. Lewis adds that each small action that goes beyond Antigua Sailing Week will positively impact the community.
