The Antigua and Barbuda Girl Guides Headquarters has received a sustainable bench made from thousands of recycled plastic bottle caps, marking the completion of the Ocean Love NO Plastic NO Waste programme.
Girl Guides Receive Recycled
“The Ocean Love NO Plastic NO Waste programme 2026 is being sponsored by the Sandals Foundation, the French Embassy in St Lucia, and the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility,” said Annabelle Reynolds-Mannix, Chief Marketing Officer of West Indies Sail Heritage Foundation (WISH).
“The benches contain a range of 17,000 to 21,000 bottle caps and are made by our team at our workshop in Falmouth Harbour,” she said.
Reynolds-Mannix said the Girl Guides Association was selected as one of two NGOs in Antigua and Barbuda to participate in the 2026 programme, with 20 participants taking part in sessions in February and receiving their bench on March 13.
The programme includes three structured sessions focused on environmental education, including the 4Rs—Refuse, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle—as well as beach clean-ups and hands-on upcycling activities.
“We have also completed our three-part program with seven schools this year … three of which have already received their benches: Sea View Farm Primary School, Newfield Primary School & Cobbs Cross Primary School,” she said.
Additional bench donations will be made in the coming months for schools that completed the programme between January and May.
Reynolds-Mannix said that while the school programme has been running since 2021, this is the first year that benches have been formally donated to participating institutions.
The programme will continue expanding in 2027, with four to five additional schools expected to take part.
