Bottle Recycling: An Honest Way to Make Money

Every day, people around the world experience the direct effects of climate change, from more intense natural disasters to prolonged heat waves. This has made green initiatives like recycling a popular way for individuals to contribute to saving the planet. But recycling isn’t just about being eco-friendly. In tonight’s episode of Belize on Reel, News Five’s Britney Gordon discovers how many Belizeans are turning recycling into a way to earn money while also helping to clean up their country. Here’s the story.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

By 8:30 a.m., the Bowen and Bowen compound in Belize City is buzzing with activity. Workers are busy hauling away stacks of crates and bags filled with hundreds of empty bottles for processing. But where do all these bottles come from? They come from dedicated collectors like Alfonso Mejia, who gather and resell them to the company.

 

Alfonso Mejia, Bottle Reseller

“Well  it’s hard work. You have to go and pick up all about and at the same time you buy and make you load. Maybe one time every fifteen days.”

 

Britney Gordon

“Where do you collect these bottles from?”

 

Alfonso Mejia

“Well, all in Belize. And I buy too.”

 

For about twenty years, Alfonso Mejia has been collecting and reselling bottles. He gathers both glass and plastic bottles, selling them for fifteen or twenty-five cents each, depending on the type. While it’s not a fortune, it’s enough to keep sixty-five-year-old Mejia coming back, especially as physical labor becomes tougher with age.

 

Alfonso Mejia

“I cannot work hard anymore like when I was young. So I have to dedicate myself in other things. It gives you money instant and I you don;t work to hard. You do your own job. Because while another person is working the whole day. But then with this, you just come make you lee money fast. Quick.”

 

After inspection, the company cleans and sanitizes glass bottles for reuse, while plastic bottles are compacted and sold abroad for recycling. Tricia Thompson, a mother of three, says the program has been a tremendous help for her family.

 

Tricia Thompson, Bottle Reseller

“ I was working at the Burrel Boom sanitation spot for a while, just, you know, watching everybody, and I said, I’ve noticed that when you bring them to Bowen, you get a little extra more, and it helps me, because I have kids and everything, so it’s, it just helps make life a little easier.”

 

For about three years, Tricia Thompson has been selling bottles, and she estimates that she sells over eight thousand bottles every week.

 

Tricia Thompson

“ What we do, we have to get our crates. And then we have to separate them into each crates. If da coke, with coke. If da Sprite with Sprite. you know. And then they come count the crates and then we go and receive our money.”

 

Britney Gordon

“How does that differ from the process for plastic bottles?”

 

Tricia Thompson

“Well, plastic, we have to count them off when we’re at the work site. Then we bag them off and we come here. We tell them how many bags we have and sometimes they check them. And then we just say how much we have and we get paid at the counter.”

 

The bottles come from various sources. Mejia collects some himself and buys others, while Thompson gathers hers from work. Another collector, Luis Enrique Lainez, buys his bottles from the government. Today, he brought in a whopping six thousand bottles.

 

Voice of: Luis Enrique Lainez, Bottle Reseller

“I do a recycling process where the government put in a process. I de da three miles. When we buy it, from people who di circuit it right there, and we pay the government, what what tariff make we take all them plastic from them.”

 

Lainez explained that he sorts and tallies up the bottles, then pays a fee to the collectors and the government. He’s been buying bottles this way for over twenty years.

 

Voice of: Luis Enrique Lainez

“It bring me a lot of benefit because from that I could buy stuff for my kids. And for that, I purchase things for school today and everything.”

 

Every morning, Frederick Neal, a dedicated Bowen and Bowen employee, is on hand to help sellers with the unloading process. He’s there bright and early, ensuring everything runs smoothly for the bottle collectors.

 

 

Frederic Neal, Bowen & Bowen Employee

“Usually I am out here with my supervisor talking to people, telling them how to put, how to organize the pints. And we usually get the crates for them in the morning, and we bring it out here for them to shuffle, and we just show them what to do.”

 

Britney Gordon

“And what is the busiest time of day, and how many people do you estimate that you see during that time?”

 

Frederic Neal

“I have to serve maybe like a hundred and fifty people every morning. And the busiest time will be from nine-thirty to like ten thirty.”

 

Every day is a new adventure for Neal at the site, as he meets a mix of new people and familiar faces. There’s always something different happening, keeping his workday interesting and dynamic.

 

 Frederic Neal

“It’s all kind of thing every time. Sometimes people will bring their pints if someone is in the way. If it’s too busy, it will be a hassle.”

Britney Gordon

“What’s your favorite part of, doing this kind of work?”

 

Frederic Neal

“I like this job because I get to help Belizean people that don’t have it like that and this is an opportunity for them to make a little money.”

 

For most people, what happens to a bottle after finishing their drink isn’t a big deal. But for some, it’s a vital source of income.

 

Tricia Thompson

“Well actually this has changed my life a lot because I was struggling as a mother and this just made it much more easier.”

 

Britney Gordon for News Five.