Wanted:
 TreeClimber
 & Trimmer

Black Sheep Inn
Carbon Offset Program

Black Sheep Inn's ECO-Definition & Composting Toilet Information & Goals & Offset Program

 WTM World Responsible Tourism Day Website:     www.wtmwrtd.com

For WTM World Responsible Tourism Day the Black Sheep Inn, along with guests and village members, decoratively painted recycling messages on the new 3-wheeled diesel eco recycling vehicle.   The ‘Tuk-Tuk’ vehicle was donated by the local mayor to transport solid waste to the Recycling Center built and established by the Black Sheep Inn.  This ‘ECO’ vehicle has a range of 100 km per gallon.  We are investigating the possibility of converting it to bio-diesel. (see more photos below)

Painted like a Chuk-Chuk

Recycling Center receives organic and inorganic waste from the village of Chugchilán.  Over 50% of the waste is composted, 30% separated and sold to local recyclers and approximately 20% goes into a small landfill. 

There are 4 separating stations in the village of Chugchilán labeled with signs and images describing how to classify the waste.  The vehicle is highly visible (and cute) when transporting waste and it can easily convey important public messages of cleanliness and sanitation to local villagers. 

Black Sheep Inn aims to provide a comfortable, educational experience for guests, teaching them about the local area, local customs and Permaculture, while contributing to and improving the community and the natural environment. Our goal is to be a leader in environmental stability and ecotourism.   

The Recycling Centre has been an initiative of the Black Sheep Inn’s since Andres (co-owner of the Black Sheep Inn) was elected to be ‘King of Garbage’ in Chugchilán in 2006.  Trash used to be swept weekly in the canyon in front of the local school.  Now trash is separated into cardboard, hard plastic, soft plastic, paper, metal and organic.  Recyclables are sold and profits go directly to the people who sort the waste.  Organic waste has been composted and used to fertilize a public central park in the village.

Recycling Station

Recycling Center Sign

The Recycling Center is built out of hand made adobe blocks and roofing material salvaged from an old demolished market building. It was built using all local labor.

This project helps to maintain a clean and healthy village. Local people are employed and have been trained to do every step of the work involved in recycling. Tourists have volunteered on clean up days in the village.

School kids are learning about recycling and helping to classify and separate waste.

Making Adobes

School Kids and BSI Truck

See www.EcoClub.com for information about 2006 Ecolodge Award for Building a Community Recycling Center.

The Painting Process: Tuk-Tuk becomes a Chuk-Chuk

Zero Waste - Reduce, Reuse & Recycle

At the Black Sheep Inn, we reduce our environmental impact by buying in bulk and avoiding non-recyclable packaging.  We reuse paper, cardboard, glass bottles, large plastic containers, kitchen scraps, water and human waste onsite.  Trash is separated into 3 receptacles in all rooms.  We produce less than one ounce of non-recyclable trash daily per person!  This amounts to ZERO waste.  Waste that cannot be reused or recycled onsite is brought to a new recycling center that the Black Sheep Inn is sponsoring and supporting. 

We offer packed lunches in unbleached brown paper. We do not sell bottled water, but instead let people fill their bottles with purified water for free. On hikes, guides and guests are encouraged to take nothing with them, nor leave anything behind.

We recycle wine and liquor bottles by building ‘bottle walls.’ The sauna, bunkhouse shower and alongside the upper bathrooms are examples of this eco-architecture. The hardest part when building a bottle wall is all the drinking that you have to do first! Large plastic containers are re-used as planters or to store milk and water. Newspaper makes good mulch for the garden as well as an alternative non-toxic mirror and window cleaner. Food scraps are composted or fed to animals: chickens, guinea pigs, pigs, dogs etc. Recycling that is not done directly on site is done in the new community Recycling Center.  Recycled products available in Ecuador include plastic buckets and barrels, water hoses, toilet paper, and more.