The revellers making Trinidad’s carnival more sustainable | Global News Avenue

From dazzling costumes to vigorous parties, Trinidad’s carnival is often called “the greatest performance on earth.”

However, according to Carnicycle, some of its elements are not entirely environmentally friendly, with the celebration estimated to generate 3.4 tons of waste each year, a local initiative designed to make the celebration more sustainable.

Danii McLetchie co-founded the Carnival in 2018, saying the Carnival is “an important part of our culture”, and it also features clothing from events to textiles to debris and “the debris that will participate in the annual parade in the ashes of two days in the ashes of the year.

The production and transportation of a single carnival apparel bra can be calculated based on online tools provided by Swedish Technologies documentation, producing approximately 37.68 kg (83 pounds) of CO2 emissions.

Danii and her team are working on third-party validation estimates, but there are thousands of parades of costume parties every year, she said, emissions are attracting attention.

To reduce these emissions, Carnicycle has begun a recycling program that collects unused clothing that would have been abandoned or burned by a masquerade band that uses new costume designs every year.

Carnicycle also has collection bins in hotels and other places, so discarded clothing can be reused.

“Until last year, we collected about 10,000 pieces of clothing material,” Danii told the BBC. He described the daunting task of completely stripping the truck’s clothing to preserve feathers, beads and other materials for future use.

The salvaged materials were sold to shell designers, raver and people in the comic industry who saved by purchasing used phones.

Carnicycle also rents large backpacks, a popular part of the outfits worn at the Trinidad Carnival. They can cost up to $700 (£550), depending on the size.

Danii explained that they came up with the idea that they heard the revelers complain not only about the cost but also consider the weight of the backpack fragments. Danny recalls, “’I paid so much, but it was heavy at that time and by lunch I just wanted to throw it away.”

carnicycle rents backpacks to the disguiser for a long enough time to take pictures, but can be exempted from the burden during the parade.

Danii and Carnicycle co-founder Luke Harris – both of them work full-time, besides being environmentally friendly initiative – Not the only one who devotes himself to his spare time

Attorney Aliyah Clarke and fashion designer Kaleen Sanois founded a side business called Second Closet, a pop-up thrift store where people can buy and sell pre-owned clothing.

Both have also been making video tutorials and providing tips on how to turn clothing into beachwear and outfits.

Aliya told the BBC that this was the first time she did for herself: “When I was done in my outfit, I would tear it apart, literally scratch it onto the wires and figure out how to turn it into something other than a carnival.”

Now, she is sharing her thoughts in a video festival, two millennials known as “Tipsy Tuesday.”

They also offer a closet service that involves a person’s home and sorts through unwanted clothing to rescue items suitable for sale in their pop-up thrift stores.

Karin thinks it proves the work they’ve been doing, and they’re asked to sort out the sprawling closets of Machel Montano.

“Clothes are personal things, especially for people like Marchel, who have many important moments with his work,” Carlin explained.

After sorting out Machel’s shoes and clothes, the Second Closet organized a two-day pop-up shop to give people the opportunity to buy items Machel wore on the stage and in his music videos.

“People brought pictures, like ‘I’m looking for this piece’,” Aria recalls.

But clothing and clothing are not the only items to be recycled, making Trinidad’s celebrations more environmentally friendly.

At the Saints’ banquet, a party considers many as one of the best parties at Trinidad’s Carnival, where food is eaten with biodegradable wooden cutlery and then pours the drink into a reusable cup.

The organizers of The Fete – a fundraising event at the top high schools in Trinidad and Tobago – also hired “Detective Bin” to ensure customers correctly sort and dispose of their waste for recycling.

It is estimated that this year, garbage bin detectives have helped more than twice as much as the recyclables caught this year compared to the previous two years combined.

“In the past three years, we have actually blocked more than a million single-use plastics from entering landfills, and I think it could be more than five tons of glass.” Vandana Mangroo, co-founder of Close loop Caribbean, said the company began working with Saints and in 2023 to make the event more sustainable.

Joseph Hadad, co-chair of the party organization committee, said the people behind the event knew that their efforts to make it greener “add some costs and more labor”. But he firmly “effective” and insisted that the spirit of the party has not been suppressed yet.

Customers like Roland Riley welcomed these green efforts, calling it “a good initiative to party with the Saints.”