Recycling Public Service Announcement by Cloe Thompson

In my teenage years, as the high school president of the Ecology Club, sustainability has always been close to my heart.   Over the years living in Canada, recycling evolved to be as quick and easy as putting out your trash for collection…except you used the blue bin.  Upon moving to Panama it became clear that recycling was not high on the list for the municipalities and it literally hurt to throw away glass, plastic and cardboard. Someone once told me just close your eyes and throw it away.

Now in 2025, in a little city called Boquete (Panama)…things are improving by leaps and bounds on the recycling front.  Over the years, with each change of the administration, Boquete has had various recycling programs but the items were very limited due to no buyers and other issues.  They even tried metal recycling bins for the public to deposit the materials, but the receptacles just ended up being used as smelly trash cans. 

The current administration in cooperation with ACAB 3R,OCB (Asociacion Comunitaria Ambiental) has authorized the use of the former slaughterhouse building in Alto Boquete for the collection of recyclable materials every Thursday from the population.  Super friendly folks are there to help you unload your car, and everything is stacked very neatly.  They currently have a machine that will crush cardboard and plastic bottles into large square stacks in preparation for the buyers.  They have a goal of purchasing a glass crushing machine for all the bottles piled up outback…but sadly are lacking funds.

Here is the List of all the Materials that they will Accept 

(Please be kind and clean all containers and bottles, and it only takes you a few minutes to sort at home.)  

Plastics (they will accept any recycling code number on the bottom of the plastic)

Plastic and metal lids (from bottles or jars)

Cardboard (please no pizza boxes)

White and colored paper (please separate)

Bottles of love (more on this to follow)

Aluminum and tin cans

Glass (but not broken glass, or porcelain (dishes, cups etc)

Used oil in a receptacle

Wine corks

Tetra packaging (juice boxes, milk boxes etc…please rinse out)

What is a bottle of love you ask and how do you make one??  Find any plastic bottle with a lid (water, soda, juice, etc) and fill it to the brim with single use plastic wrappers, bags, toothbrushes and plastic utensils.  Just ate a candy bar, save the wrapper for your love bottle.  Used food plastic wrap (clean), stuff it in the bottle.  After unwrapping a puzzle box or game covered in plastic wrap, in the bottle it goes.  Changed out your toothbrush, squeeze it in the bottle. You get the idea. Screw the lid on the bottle and you are done.  These bottles will be used for various projects including building playgrounds for public schools.

Let’s all do our part to help improve our environment, protect the soil for agriculture and teach our young children or grandchildren about sustainability. 

Here are the instructions to the drop off location from downtown Boquete.  Driving to Alto Boquete, just past CEFATI at the top of the hill, take the first left hand turn.  You can see the building from the road.   From Alto Boquete…head to CEFATI and take the last right turn.  Every Thursday from 8am to noon.

Pictured Below is a Bottle of Love