Sea Turtles & Plastic Partners

Projects Supported To Date:

• Conservation des Especes Marines (Ivory Coast): The project aims to employ 10 people from Grand Bereby and the towns of Mani, Pitiké, and Kablaké to collect the large amounts of plastic waste found on rocks and beaches, which are spawning grounds for sea turtles. The collected waste will be classified by type, conditioned and sent to Abidjan, where the only company in the country that recycles plastic waste is located, called Recyplast. $5,000 grant (August 2023)

• Fundacao Tartaruga (Cabo Verde): Rangers of the Turtle Foundation are working to produce products from plastic waste outside of the sea turtle nesting season on Boa Vista/Cabo Verde and sell them to tourists. In order to optimize this work and to shred larger quantities of plastic waste, we would like to purchase a motor-power granulator machine. $5,000 grant (August 2023)

• Wildlife Conservation Association (Costa Rica): This project aims to consolidate the existing recycling efforts of the community of Nosara. By selling products and offering educational workshops, they will promote a circular economy in the area, increasing awareness, helping manage waste from development and creating new and innovative sources of income to support conservation. $4,500 grant (July 2023)

• Comunidad Protectora de Tortugas de Osa (COPROT) (Costa Rica): With this grant COPROT will provide a salary for a local employee to expand their recycling center and to host an educational workshop to familiarize the community with plastics and their threats to sea turtles and ecosystem health. $4,500 grant (July 2023)

• Osa Conservation (Costa Rica): With our grant, they will create light guardians (light covers to reduce light pollution) from recycled plastics to implement in hotels close to nesting beaches, to turn plastics into “second-chance souvenirs” to provide extra income for local people, and to increase awareness on plastic pollution and implementing alternatives to single-use plastics. $4,500 grant (July 2023)

• Centro de Rescate de Especies Marinas Amenazadas (CREMA) (Costa Rica):

  CREMA is collaborating with a community initiative to collect, classify, and send solid wastes from 14 coastal communities to recycling centers. They have carried out more than 100 beach clean ups, collecting and transporting to collection centers almost 7 tons of waste. $4,500 grant (July 2023)

• Kishoka Youth Community Based Organization (Kenya): This project is an expansion of Kishoka’s plastic management project with an aim of restoring five critical turtle nesting beaches in the area. Students and community members will be trained and mentored through waste segregation processes, creation of products like bangles, stools, and connect with recyclers like Kwale Plastic Plus to purchase their excess plastics, rubber, and glasses collected. $5,000 grant (July 2023)

• Fundacao Principe (Principe Island): This project supports two women-led efforts from two communities. By supporting these initiatives, we will reduce the pressure on turtle hunting and plastic consumption on the island with the collection and repurposing of the plastic that is washed ashore, recycling plastic flip-flops into jewelry and plastic bags into rugs. $5,000 grant (Sep 2022)

• Juara Turtle Project (Malaysia): Juara will upgrade their machinery to enable onsite plastic waste recycling and improve the recycling center infrastructure. This saves the community money, avoids carbon emissions, and provides economic benefits for local residents while keeping beaches and waters cleaner. $5,000 grant (July 2022).

• Karumbe (Uruguay): The Plastic Free Turtles project works with communities to clean up beaches in one of the areas that has the most impact on sea turtles. This project connects conservation efforts with the community through beach cleanups, with the waste being recycled. $7,500 grant (March 2022).

• Eco Mayto (Mexico): This project works with 5 communities along the Pacific coast to collect plastic that would be burned and to keep plastic off of turtle nesting beaches. The money raised by the sale of these products will support turtle conservation and local community members. $5,000 grant (Jan 2022).

• COBEC (Kenya): Community-Based Environmental Conservation is leading efforts to get plastic off the beach while turning it into useful products that benefit local residents. So far, they have recycled more than 2 tons of plastic waste, provided benefits for more than 300 residents, and reduced the number of turtles impacted by plastic waste. Our grant will allow COBEC to expand their outreach, conduct cleanups, and purchase new equipment. $5,000 grant (Dec 2021).

• Green Phenix (Curacao): This innovative social enterprise is helping reduce plastic waste on this Caribbean island. This grant will help conduct beach cleanups and purchase the equipment needed to turn this waste into new products, which will benefit the juvenile green turtles living in Curacao’s waters, create new jobs for local residents, and help the project become self-sustaining. $5,000 grant (Nov 2021).

• Research Center for Environmental Management and Development (CIMAD) (Colombia): This grant is helping to launch a new project that will train women in the rural community of Pangui to recycle plastic bags into handbags that will both reduce plastic pollution and provide a new source of income to local families and sea turtle conservation efforts. $5,000 grant (Nov 2021).

Learn More About Plastic:

• Ocean Plastic

• 5 Tips To Reduce Plastic

• Plastic & Sea Turtles Webinar

• Travelers Against Plastic

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