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'I have done it for the last 15 years': The guerrilla Camposol recycling scheme that fills a hole in Mazarrón waste management
Camposol resident Ann Wamsley makes her own Christmas cards for sale, and also runs a unique recycling system to dispose of them after the festive season
We all know that rubbish, and the disposal of it, can sometimes be a hot topic in Spain, and not as straightforward as it at first should seem. Too many times we see garbage strewn around the bins instead of inside them, the wrong items going into the incorrect recycling areas, or simply recyclables going into the general waste to be buried as landfill as opposed to being given a second life.Try as they might, municipal services and schemes don’t always meet demand to solve these problems or to offer alternatives. That’s where community-driven initiatives can make a difference.
Ann Wamsley, a Camposol resident since the start of the millennium, has been on a mission to stop paper and card – and more specifically Christmas cards – from being chucked away in the wrong bin when they can be recycled into books, paper or other Christmas cards.
“As an avid recycler, I didn't like to see greeting cards in the basura,” says Ann. “Paper should not go to landfill.”
That’s why, for the last 15 years, she has been running and managing her own Christmas card recycling scheme for the residents of Camposol.
“We put boxes in the post room on Sector A, and at the post office and Best Wishes on Sector B, and down at Noah’s Arc in Puerto de Mazarrón.”
The boxes, which are put in place just after Christmas, are installed by Ann herself, with the generous assistance of the local businesses where they are located, and stay there up until the end of January. The idea is for people to bring their used Christmas cards and deposit them inside, to be recycled and given a new lease of life.
But it’s not just scrapping and pulping Christmas cards that Ann is into. A longtime Christmas maniac, she has done a deep dive into making and selling her own Christmas cards as well, some of which she donates to be used for Camposol’s charity raffle prizes in hampers and gift baskets.
“When we came here 25 years ago, you could not get English cards,” says Ann, “so I started a craft group making them. You could buy card and envelopes but not embellishments, so we cut out robins, trees and snowflakes from old cards.
“Over the years, some charities have done this. I make cards to sell in Noah’s Arc shop in the puerto each Christmas.”
If you fancy picking up some of Ann’s homemade Christmas cards to send to friends and family this year, you can get down to Noah’s Arc. And when early January rolls around and you’re all done with your Christmas cards, don’t forget to recycle them!
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