In partnership with TUI Care Foundation, the Travel Foundation is currently undertaking a feasibility study into whether local people in Cabo Verde could make a living from recycling the waste products from hotels.
Two waste streams are being examined: glass (which can be crushed and used for aggregate in construction) and cooking oil (which can be sold on or made into soap).
Similar concepts are already underway in certain areas of Cabo Verde. Research is being carried out on several islands in the archipelago, but our feasibility study focuses on the opportunities on the island of Boa Vista, which is set to overtake Sal in terms of tourism growth and has even fewer facilities for processing rubbish.
The idea to set up a social enterprise, linked to large hotels, though initial research indicates that to work most efficiently in collaboration with local authorities, it may be a municipality-driven structure, still employing local people and providing livelihoods.
Once the study is complete, it is hoped we will be able to progress these plans over the course of the year.