Juerguistas who make Trinidad carnival more sustainable

From dazzling costumes to lush parties, Trinidad carnival is often called “the best show on the earth.”

But some of its elements are not exactly ecological and it is estimated that the festivities produce 3.4 tons of waste every year according to Carnicycle, a local initiative with the aim of making the festivities more sustainable.

Danii Mcletchie, who co -founded Carniclo in 2018, says that although the carnival “is a large part of our culture”, it also has a very negative environmental impact “of the events, to the textiles, to the costumes” used by the masquerades, spectators and vendors who participate in the annual pair in the two days before the ashes on Wednesday.

Producing and transporting only one single carnival costume bra can generate approximately 37.68 kg (83 lb) of CO2 emissions, carniclo estimates based on calculations made with an online tool provided by the Swedish technology company Doconomy.

Danii and his team are working to have that estimate verified by a third party, but with tens of thousands of masquerades parading every year, he says that the amount of broadcasts is a source of concern.

To reduce these emissions, Carnicycle has begun a recycling program, collecting unused costumes that would have been thrown or burned by Masquerade bands, which use new costume designs every year.

Carnicycle also places collection containers in hotels and other places, so discarded costumes can be reused.

“Until last year, we collect around 10,000 pieces of costume materials,” Danii told the BBC, which describes the arduous task of completely eliminating the loading of costume trucks to preserve feathers, accounts and other materials for future use.

Recovered materials are sold to costume designers, ravers and people in the Burlesque industry, who save buying second hand.

Carnicycle also rent the large backpack pieces that are a popular part of the costumes used in the Trinity Carnival. Its price can cost up to $ 700 (£ 550), depending on the size.

Danii explains that they came up with the idea after listening to the Juerguistas who complain not only because of the spending but also because of the weight of the backpack pieces. “‘I’m paying so much money, but then it’s heavy and at the time of lunch I just want to throw it out,” Danni recalls people saying.

Carnicycle Rent the backpacks to masquerades the long time so they can pose for photos, but they free themselves from carrying their load during the parade.

The co -founder of Danii and Carnicycle, Luke Harris, who have full -time jobs in addition to their environment initiative – They are not the only ones who dedicate their free time to make Trinidad carnival fun and ecological

The lawyer Aliyah Clarke and fashion designer Kaleen Sanois began a parallel business called 2nd Closet, an emerging second -hand store where people can buy and sell used clothes.

The two have also been making video tutorials with tips on how to transform costumes into beach clothes and outfits for other occasions.

Aliya told the BBC that it was something that he did for the first time by itself: “After ending my costume, I would tear it up, literally to the cable, and discover how to turn this into something else to use outside the Carnival.”

Now he is sharing his ideas in a video segment that the two millennials have called “Drunk Tuesday.”

They also offer a closet classification service, which implies getting to a person’s house and classifying through unwanted clothing, to rescue items suitable for sale in their second -hand store.

In what Kaleen believes that it is a testimony of the work they have been doing, they were asked to classify the extensive closet of Machel Montano, a musician known as the “King of Soca” and a superstar in the world of Carnival.

“Clothes are personal things, especially for someone like Machel who has so many big moments tied to her pieces,” explains Kaleen.

After classifying Machel’s shoes and clothes, the second closet organized an emerging two -day store, giving people the opportunity to buy articles used by Machel on stage and in their musical videos.

“People came with photos and said ‘I am looking for this piece’,” Aliyah recalls about fans’ enthusiasm for second -hand elements.

But costumes and outfits are not the only articles that are recycled to make Trinidad festivities more environmentally friendly.

In Fete With The Saints, a party that many consider one of the best in the carnival of Trinidad, the food is eaten with biodegradable wood cutlery and drinks are poured into reusable cups.

The organizers of the party, a fundraising for one of the best secondary schools in Trinidad and Tobago, also hire “container detectives” to ensure that customers classify properly and eliminate their garbage for recycling.

It is estimated that this year Bin detectives helped more than double the amount of recyclable captured, compared to the previous two years combined.

“In the last three years, we have actually prevented more than one million plastics with a single use from entering the landfill, I think that perhaps more than five tons of glass,” says Vandana Mangroo, co -founder of Close The Loop Caribbean, a company that began working with the FETE organizers with the Saints in 2023 to make the most sustainable event.

Joseph Hadad, co -chair of the party organizing committee, says that those behind the event knew that their efforts to make it more ecological “would add a layer of costs and more labor.” But he is inflexible “worked” and insists that the spirit of the party has not damping.

These green efforts are being received by clients such as Roland Riley, who acclaimed him as “a good Fette initiative with the Saints to follow that route.”