ST. JOHN’S, Antigua and Barbuda.– As part of the activities organized during the Caribbean Travel Marketplace 2026, journalists, tourism professionals and international delegates participated today in a hands-on sustainability experience called “Responsible Tourism Turning Waste Activity,” hosted by Good Humans 268 Inc. at the John Hughes Recycling Plant in Antigua.

The ABC MUNDIAL team actively collaborated for more than three hours in recycling and waste-sorting activities focused mainly on plastic bottles and bottle caps, gaining first-hand insight into one of the Caribbean’s major environmental challenges: plastic waste management on small islands.

The initiative is part of Antigua and Barbuda’s preparations for the 2026 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, where organizers aim to create the 56 Commonwealth flags entirely from recycled bottle caps.

Participants removed caps from collected plastic bottles, sorted them by color and size, and prepared the materials that will later be used to build the flags. Wearing gloves and protective equipment, attendees directly contributed to the process while learning about recycling, waste reduction and circular economy practices.

During the activity, Kelisha Pigott explained the mission behind the initiative and the organization’s environmental and social goals.

“What you are seeing here is over two million containers collected from schools, businesses and communities. We created an educational program that teaches students about waste management, recycling, volunteering and tree planting,” Pigott explained.

She added that the project also aims to create employment opportunities and safe community spaces for people with disabilities.

According to Pigott, Good Humans 268 currently operates in all 80 schools across Antigua and Barbuda while partnering with businesses and hotels to expand the island’s recycling network for plastics, glass and aluminum.

She also described how PET bottles are sent to the Antigua Recycling Corporation to be crushed and exported, while the organization is exploring technologies that could transform recycled glass back into sand, helping restore vulnerable coastal areas in Barbuda affected by hurricanes.

Participants also viewed sculptures created from sorted bottle caps and learned about the organization’s Guinness World Record attempts, including the world’s longest bottle chain and a large-scale sculpture made with 28,000 recycled caps.

The experience demonstrated how tourism can become a powerful tool for environmental awareness and social transformation, connecting visitors with meaningful sustainability projects and community-driven initiatives.

From Antigua and Barbuda, this activity showcased another side of Caribbean tourism — one focused not only on beaches and hospitality, but also on environmental protection, education and community engagement.