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By Nikita Espangel
After suspending operations in mid August 2012, search Yap’s recycling program recently resumed operations on December 2012.
According to Yap’s Environmental Protection Agency, the reason for the temporary suspension was due to extremely high participation.
Money to fund the recycling program comes from a 6 cent tax imposed per imported aluminum, glass, or PET plastic beverage container.
For the year 2012, three million more containers were turned in for refunds, whereas only around two million were imported to the island. According to Christina Fillmed of Yap’s EPA, “people were digging up containers from around their homes and yards.” The taxes could not keep up with refunds owed causing the program to cease operations in order to allow import taxes to accumulate enough to reopen.
A total of $160,000 dollars worth of refunds were issued for the year 2012.
Since the recycling center reopened, PET plastic beverage containers, glass, and aluminum cans can be submitted to the Island Paradise redeemable for 5 cents per container.
Issues with the recycling program include having to find a more efficient way to count the containers, as currently they are counted one by one.
Despite these issues however, Yap’s EPA has commented homes and roads are now much cleaner, adding that dump sites now contain little to no traces of such containers.
