Cleaning up the Environment ∙ Providing Local Jobs
EMPOWERING THE PEOPLE
About Kay Blada
Kay Blada Recycling is a 501(c)(3) certified non-profit dedicated to alleviating poverty and cleaning up plastic waste in Haiti. Each day, people collect plastic off the streets, which Kay Blada buys and then transports to a plastic company in Haiti for recycling, simultaneously providing employment and cleaning up massive amounts of plastic waste.
Without a reliable waste disposal program, plastic trash is often thrown onto the streets and into the canals in Haiti, polluting the drinking water. Piles of trash are sometimes burned in the streets, releasing toxic fumes.
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and a majority of the people who collect plastic for Kay Blada are women over the age of fifty, trying to support their families. For many, the money they earn collecting this plastic is the only way they can afford to buy daily meals or send their children to school.
Kay Blada's goal is to reduce unemployment and pollution in Haiti. Since Kay Blada was founded in December of 2015, we have employed about 100 people and recycled 300,000 pounds of plastic.
To find out more about Kay Blada, watch our promotional video here.
Our Three Goals:
Cleaning up the
Environment
Kay Blada's goal is to reduce the amount of plastic waste in the streets and canals of Haiti, which pollutes water and releases toxic fumes when burned. Every day, locals collect plastic off the streets, and Kay Blada takes the plastic to a local recycling company so that it can be repurposed. So far, we have recycled over 300,000 pounds of plastic waste.
Providing Local Jobs
Kay Blada is working hard to end unemployment in Haiti. Every worker is paid based on the amount of plastic that they collect each day. Plastic is weighed by the pound, and provides enough income for locals to buy a daily meal or pay for their children's education. Since December 2015, Kay Blada has employed 100 people.
Empowering the People
One of Kay Blada's central goals is to educate the people of Haiti on how they can be stewards of their environment. Kay Blada gives educational talks in schools, hosts radio shows, and works to educate the local community about keeping roads and water clean. Education is the key to sustainable development, and is one of our core values.
Impact
Since Kay Blada was founded in December of 2015, we have...
Collected 300,000 pounds of plastic
which would have ended up in canals
or burned in the streets
Employed 100 Collectors
as well as 7 full-time employees and 25 teachers
Educated 1,800 schoolchildren
in the town of Hinche about
environmental stewardship
The Importance of Education
Although picking up plastic is vital to clean up Haiti's streets, environmental education needs to be part of the long-term solution.
In Hinche, recycling is not a commonly understood concept, and many people are not fully aware of the adverse health effects of burning plastic. In 2016, Kay Blada began an environmental education program in K-12 schools in Hinche to teach the next generation how to care for their environment and improve public health.
25 teachers in Hinche receive lesson materials as well as a monthly stipend to incorporate environmental education into their daily lesson plans.
The Kay Blada Environmental Education program currently educates about 1,800 students daily in 6 schools in Hinche, Haiti.
Now, Kay Blada is seeking funding to scale its operations and reach while continuing to pay its collectors a fair wage. With more funding, Kay Blada will have access to more effective collection tools, processing facilities, employee training, plastic transportation vehicles, and local marketing. Every contribution helps Kay Blada to fulfill its mission of creating local jobs, educating the community, and cleaning up the environment.