Trinidad and Tobago’s landfills receive approximately 700,000 tonnes of waste per year, about 1,500 to 2,000 tonnes per day. Of this, 66% is household waste, while the remaining 33% comes from industrial, commercial, and institutional sources.
On a per capita basis, the country generates between 1.5 kg and 2.0 kg of waste each day. This figure doesn’t account for the underreported issue of illegal dumping, the uncollected garbage, or the widespread litter found across our streets. Major cultural events, like the nation’s annual Carnival, contribute significantly to this problem, producing an estimated 3.4 tonnes of waste each year, according to Carnicycle.
When we think of the climate crisis and the call for sustainability, we often picture loud, impassioned activists…angry, desperate, and fearful for the planet. Yet, quieter forms of protest are also taking root in creative and powerful ways.
Using plastic and other seemingly unusable waste may not be every artist’s first instinct, but a growing number of local artists and environmentalists are authentically incorporating recycled materials into their work, some even creating art entirely from upcycled items.
Carnicycle: A Sustainable Spark in Carnival Culture
Speaking with Danii Mc Letchie, CEO and Co-founder of Carnicycle, she shared how the project began. At the end of 2018, she and co-founder Luck Harris sought to build a sustainable business after university, inspired by their shared love for Carnival and a critical question: “What happens to carnival costumes?”
Their journey started with collecting 28 costumes. The following year, they gathered 150. Danii recalled the intensive experimentation the early days required: “We would have to break it down, not knowing what it all consists of. So it was definitely a process. Because there’s no blueprint for recycling costumes,” she said. Much of their approach depended on trial and error.
Carnicycle’s impact grew significantly by 2020, when they collected over 250 costumes and sold their first batches of recycled materials. To date, they’ve salvaged more than 11,000 costume pieces that would have otherwise been burned or discarded.
Danii emphasised the importance of education in fostering a more sustainable Carnival, not just through webinars or school outreach but also by directly engaging designers. “It’s educating designers and artists on how they can incorporate more sustainable practices into the design,” she said.
One such collaboration involved Kara Monday Wear, a partnership that surprised both Danii and Luck. “We worked with her to teach her about the different types of sustainable fabrics. From the more natural fibres to deadstock fabrics, which can still consist of polyester fabrics, but again, these materials were headed to the landfill.”
Carnicycle has also prioritised community empowerment. Danii shared that over the course of two years, the initiative trained more than 100 women in a local garment factory—many of them underprivileged and underserved—in design skills, including sewing and costume creation.
Importantly, Danii believes costume designers can do more than just design for Carnival. “We want designers to start thinking, ‘I can use recycled materials for this,’ from the get-go,” she said.
She added, “We’re hoping to have our presence in the entire Caribbean region. And hoping we can start to replace completely, all of the single-use items that we have now, starting with backpacks, with just rentals.”
While Carnicycle isn’t seeking to eliminate people’s desire to own costumes or backpacks, it champions circular economy principles as the foundation for a more sustainable future.
Berkeley Carnival Revolution: Protest Through Eco-Art
In contrast, for Cherisse Lauren Berkeley, founder of Berkeley Carnival Revolution, the inspiration to create art from waste came from a more personal place. “Being broke and wanting to make mas and celebrate, but not having the money… so we started using random junk in 2017.”
Cherisse credits community support for the success of the band, explaining how they put out calls for people to collect specific types of trash to be used in their costumes. Their motivation is deeply rooted in environmental frustration: “People pay these thousands and thousands of dollars for a costume that most of the time they don’t wear again… the parts are thrown all over the road and wasted.”
In 2024, Berkeley Carnival Revolution received an award for Eco-Conscious Sustainability, an achievement Cherisse never imagined when they first began.
But for Cherisse, the work extends far beyond aesthetics. “In the sense that we aren’t just eco activists in the way that our costumes are designed,” they explained. The band creates costumes with protest at the core, campaigning through eco-art on issues like gender-based violence, child abuse, social inequality, capitalism, and more. “And it all centres around being eco-conscious and budget-friendly!”
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This story was published with the support of the Caribbean Climate Justice Journalism Fellowship, which is a joint venture of Climate Tracker and Open Society Foundations.
