Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago – 02 October 2026 – The Scout Association of Trinidad and Tobago has completed installation of ten park benches made from nearly 100,000 recycled plastic bottles. The initiative set out to transform waste into durable public seating across Port of Spain, backed by funding from the Digicel Foundation and Shell Trinidad and Tobago's Extraordinary Projects Impacting Communities (EPIC) programme.

The project began over a year ago by engaging scouts and other youth groups in clean-up and recycling activities. The collected plastic waste was processed by the NGO Flying Tree Environmental Management, which converted the recycled plastic into plastic lumber and durable building materials used to construct the park benches. Each bench represents approximately 10,000 plastic bottles or 300 kilogrammes of diverted waste.

"Scouting has always been about learning by doing, and this project puts that in principle into practice,” said Krishan Punilal, Acting National Scout Commissioner of The Scout Association of Trinidad and Tobago. “Plastic pollution is one of the most visible challenges facing Trinidad and Tobago, and we chose to respond with action rather than words. Each bench is a lasting reminder that waste can become something useful, and that young people are ready to lead on protecting our environment."

Since April of this year, ten benches have been constructed and installed in public spaces across Northwest Trinidad, including popular public areas such as The Brian Lara Promenade and Savannah West Park in Diego Martin.

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 Scout Association of Trinidad and Tobago received $100,000 for this project through the EPIC Grant programme, co-funded by Shell Trinidad and Tobago.      

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