Lā 10: Pōʻakahi, Malaki 6
Recycling on Rapa Nui / Visiting the Markets / Leaving Rapa Nui
Welina hou kākou me ke aloha! It’s Breeze and ʻAʻaliʻi again and we are even more excited this time to be able to share with you what our Nāhiku delegation has been doing. Today was our last day in Rapa Nui and a great time to reflect on what had happened this past week. Breakfast began at 8:00 with a special meal prepared by the most loving hosts at Hotel Tauraʻa. We had a hamburger patty with an egg and many fruits, that reminded us of our homemade, delicious loco mocos at home. What a way to start off our day! After breakfast was done, the delegation waited for the arrival of a few haumāna and kumu to return from a night on the Hōkūleʻa waʻa. Once everyone was all set and ready to go, we departed and started our day full of lessons that brought deeper meaning to the word Laulima.
The first place that we went to today was the recycling plant known to the Rapa Nui people as Centro de Recicalaje Ecohare. At this place we were able to watch how the people of Rapa Nui use their resources efficiently to give a longer life to recyclable products. This recycling plant is ran by Mama Piru, who is a Rapa Nui native. One thing that we will remember about Mama Piru is her dedication to ensure a sustainable living environment for her people. She goes through town informing people on how to turn in their products such as bottles, cans, cartons, etc,. but when recycling materials are separated incorrectly, she knows exactly who they were from, and returns the items to their house so that they can sort their recyclable items properly. Upon our arrival at the recycling plant, we were able to see the machine they use to smash the cans and bottles into cubes that weigh around 800 pounds! There were so many of these cubes that it was hard to imagine how many cans are put into just one.
The next area that we went to in the recycling plant was the sorting area. There was a man there named Pascal who separates each and every bottle into different bags based on their color, the type of plastic, and the way that they can be used again after the recycling process. There are thousands of plastic bottles to be separated and sorted. We were amazed that only one individual does that work alone. Our guide told us that there are only three requirements to have a job at the recycling plant which include (1) being responsible, (2) the ability to work in a team, and (3) have love and respect for the earth. This is when we realized that Pascal was not doing it because he had to, but because he cared about where he was from and the environment surrounding him. After realizing that everyone in Rapa Nui has a passion for keeping their environment maʻemaʻe (clean), a question arose on whether the people are able to collect money for each recyclable product, just like our 5 cents in Hawaiʻi. We were amazed to hear that they don’t have the same type of payment program, and that all the Rapa Nui people recycle faithfully from the heart to ensure the pono of their homeland.
The last place that we got to visit on the recycling plant was their keʻena or office, built entirely out of recycled materials. The walls were made out of plastic bottles filled with trash and held together by pieces of coral and rock. The floors were made of 10 tons of milled glass, and the foundation of the building was made with tires to ensure a sturdy structure. One interesting fact is that this recycling plant donated 5,000 tires of different sizes to Toki Music School for their own sustainable construction purposes. The Ecohare is an inspiration to others to illustrate that there are many ways to reuse plastic bottles. Foul odors from the recycled materials are filtered out, so the surrounding air smells clean.This was a creative opportunity for us to imagine what we can do at home in Hawaiʻi by improving our recycling efforts..
In conclusion, we learned a lot during the day at the recycling plant that inspired us to make a difference at home. At the end of our day, we made our way to the airport to catch the plane back to Papeʻete where we stayed for the night before leaving to Moʻorea. Our flight back to Tahiti was delayed three hours, so we used that time to catch up on rest and have more bonding time before leaving Rapa Nui. It was a great week here but we can't wait to be home with you all and to share with our many stories
The first place that we went to today was the recycling plant known to the Rapa Nui people as Centro de Recicalaje Ecohare. At this place we were able to watch how the people of Rapa Nui use their resources efficiently to give a longer life to recyclable products. This recycling plant is ran by Mama Piru, who is a Rapa Nui native. One thing that we will remember about Mama Piru is her dedication to ensure a sustainable living environment for her people. She goes through town informing people on how to turn in their products such as bottles, cans, cartons, etc,. but when recycling materials are separated incorrectly, she knows exactly who they were from, and returns the items to their house so that they can sort their recyclable items properly. Upon our arrival at the recycling plant, we were able to see the machine they use to smash the cans and bottles into cubes that weigh around 800 pounds! There were so many of these cubes that it was hard to imagine how many cans are put into just one.
The next area that we went to in the recycling plant was the sorting area. There was a man there named Pascal who separates each and every bottle into different bags based on their color, the type of plastic, and the way that they can be used again after the recycling process. There are thousands of plastic bottles to be separated and sorted. We were amazed that only one individual does that work alone. Our guide told us that there are only three requirements to have a job at the recycling plant which include (1) being responsible, (2) the ability to work in a team, and (3) have love and respect for the earth. This is when we realized that Pascal was not doing it because he had to, but because he cared about where he was from and the environment surrounding him. After realizing that everyone in Rapa Nui has a passion for keeping their environment maʻemaʻe (clean), a question arose on whether the people are able to collect money for each recyclable product, just like our 5 cents in Hawaiʻi. We were amazed to hear that they don’t have the same type of payment program, and that all the Rapa Nui people recycle faithfully from the heart to ensure the pono of their homeland.
The last place that we got to visit on the recycling plant was their keʻena or office, built entirely out of recycled materials. The walls were made out of plastic bottles filled with trash and held together by pieces of coral and rock. The floors were made of 10 tons of milled glass, and the foundation of the building was made with tires to ensure a sturdy structure. One interesting fact is that this recycling plant donated 5,000 tires of different sizes to Toki Music School for their own sustainable construction purposes. The Ecohare is an inspiration to others to illustrate that there are many ways to reuse plastic bottles. Foul odors from the recycled materials are filtered out, so the surrounding air smells clean.This was a creative opportunity for us to imagine what we can do at home in Hawaiʻi by improving our recycling efforts..
In conclusion, we learned a lot during the day at the recycling plant that inspired us to make a difference at home. At the end of our day, we made our way to the airport to catch the plane back to Papeʻete where we stayed for the night before leaving to Moʻorea. Our flight back to Tahiti was delayed three hours, so we used that time to catch up on rest and have more bonding time before leaving Rapa Nui. It was a great week here but we can't wait to be home with you all and to share with our many stories