Youth Recycling Project turns Plastic Waste into Benches

Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago – 24 April 2026 – The new benches appearing in public spaces around Port of Spain may look like concrete, but each one is made from approximately 10,000 plastic bottles. Spearheaded by the Scout Association of Trinidad and Tobago, the initiative transforms plastic waste into durable public seating, with funding from the Digicel Foundation and Shell Trinidad and Tobago’s Extraordinary Projects Impacting Communities (EPIC) programme.

Dubbed the ‘Scout Benches Initiative’, the project engages scouts and other youth groups in clean-up and recycling activities, promoting conservation and environmental responsibility. The collected plastic waste is then processed into plastic lumber and used to construct park benches, each representing approximately 10,000 plastic bottles or 300 kilogrammes of diverted waste. The benches are being produced by Flying Tree Environmental Management, an NGO which converts recycled plastic into durable building materials.

With support from a TT$100,000 EPIC grant, ten benches will be installed in key locations across northwest Port of Spain, in collaboration with the Port of Spain City Corporation. Speaking at the unveiling on 22nd April, Mayor Chinua Alleyne shared his vision to enhance the Brian Lara Promenade and other public spaces through initiatives like this.

 Now in its tenth year, the Digicel Foundation’s EPIC programme is designed to empower community-based organisations to implement innovative projects that make a meaningful and lasting impact across Trinidad and Tobago. The 2025-2026 EPIC projects are co-funded by Shell Trinidad and Tobago.