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It’s time to go on a litter cleanup. This Sunday, October 18, the Rotary Club of Saint-Barthélemy, in partnership with the Lions Club, Super U, and Paprec Energies (as well as La Petite Colombe, Caplaw SBH, La Quincaillerie, Carambole, Segeco, Braz & Co, and the Collectivité), is organizing its annual island-wide Clean Up, as it does every year. This annual event highlights the lack of civic-mindedness and the scant regard that residents and visitors show for nature and the environment.
This is because several metric tons of various types of trash are systematically collected during the major cleanup before the tourist season begins. Admittedly, the volume of trash collected has decreased significantly over the past two years. From 10.5 metric tons collected in 2018, the total dropped to 5.7 metric tons in 2021, 4.1 metric tons in 2022, 2.7 metric tons in 2024, and 2.9 metric tons in 2025. Nevertheless, this decline seems to be linked more to the decrease in the number of people participating in the Clean Up than to a collective shift in awareness. As a result, the president of the Rotary Club of Saint-Barth, Axelle Cappelli, is calling on the public to join the volunteers.
“A little less of the big stuff”
“Family, friends, buddies, coworkers, neighbors, acquaintances, adults, children—everyone is welcome,” Axelle insists. “We hope people will get involved. We need to keep the spirit of this Clean Up alive. It’s important at the start of the season. It also helps raise awareness among newcomers.” In recent years, groups from businesses or organizations have become less common. Yet every helping hand—big or small—proves useful. Because the amount of trash to be collected is considerable.
The biggest nuisances remain cigarette butts and cans of all kinds. “There are slightly fewer large items,” admits the Rotary president. However, it’s not impossible that the cleanup volunteers will discover a few “gems.” Such as household appliances, mechanical parts from cars or motorcycles, engines, and so on. To ensure they can recover everything, the fourteen Rotary members and their partners will need help.
The meeting is set for 7 a.m. this Sunday, October 18, in the Saint-Jean parking lot, near Sables Blancs. Breakfast will be provided for the brave early risers.
It should be noted that staff from the Paprec waste management site in Public will be on hand all Sunday morning, outside their regular work hours, to ensure the collected waste is properly received.
At noon, all participants are invited to the Saint-Barth Yacht Club’s sailing school for a barbecue. “It’s all for a good cause,” smiles Axelle Cappelli.
