Guadeloupe turns waste into resources ^{CEFR B2}

Guadeloupe produced 346,720 tonnes of waste in 2023, according to ORDEC, the regional waste and circular economy observatory. About a quarter of the waste was recovered and 60 percent was buried in two non-hazardous waste storage facilities. Waste production has been stable since 2019, but authorities and local groups agree that recovery channels must improve.

Civic and creative responses aim to reduce consumption and increase reuse. L’Admérane, a creative space in the former refectory of Ilet Pérou in Capesterre-Belle-Eau, was created by the association Le Nouveau Mode and is led by Béatrice Souillet. The space offers sewing workshops, a small thrift shop and upcycling services; it accepts clothes for washing, sorting and resale or redesign and works with Orange Caraïbe. Souillet has made the space a PTCE and launched the environmentally focused brand Cyrikaë.

Artist and eco-designer Guy Gabon uses secondary materials—metal, plastic or textiles—instead of raw resources, and he says the ecological transition will require behaviour changes and some discomfort. Event organisers are also changing practices to reduce festival waste. Typical steps include:

• use of reusable cups and washable tableware,
• preferring glass or kegs,
• limiting plastic bottles,
• promoting food composting,
• setting up awareness areas in exhibitor villages.

Associations such as Mouvances Caraïbes coordinate education and waste management at events. François Vatin, an event waste manager who joined Mouvances Caraïbes a year ago after seven years with similar groups, says cost remains a major barrier for small organisers and that practices show only limited improvement, though public infrastructure such as trash cans has increased. At the public level, municipalities joined an inter-municipal cooperation (EPCI) since 2016 and the Regional Council aims for a zero-waste archipelago by 2035. An energy recovery plant is expected to open in 2028; the project is estimated at EUR 96 million (just over USD 111 million). In September 2024, representatives signed the Zero Waste in the Caribbean agreement, led by Syvade and financed by INTERREG Caribbean, to pool knowledge and develop recovery across the region.