Protecting Paradise
SUSTAINABILITY AT COMO PARROT CAY
Destination 3 minute read
COMO Parrot Cay is a paradise for humans and wildlife alike. A biodiversity hotspot of pristine white sand beaches, canopied gardens and crystal-clear oceans teeming with turtles, rays and darting shoals of tropical fish.
“As visitors to and custodians of this corner of the world, it is vital that we care for the island the way it cares for us,” says Sustainability Manager Jessica Fratollilo. Jessica began her role at COMO Parrot Cay in 2020, after completing an MSc in Sustainability Management at the University of Ottawa. She is pioneering an approach to sustainability in the Turks and Caicos from our award-winning private island resort, working to foster a culture of environmental conservation and preservation that extends well beyond its shores.
In this dispatch from COMO Parrot Cay, Jessica gives us the inside line on what COMO is trying to do to ensure waste can become a blessing, not a burden, on our island home.
Kitchen garden
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“Our kitchen garden is one of our most exciting new additions. First planted in December 2022, it’s now providing 200 kilograms of fresh, sustainably-grown produce every month to the kitchens of COMO Parrot Cay. In the raised beds you’ll find leafy cabbages and bok choy growing alongside eggplant, tomato and melon vines. Cassava and sweet potatoes do really well, and are part of the traditional island diet. The butterfly pea flowers - distilled in gin for our signature cocktails - are becoming an island specialty. Any food waste from our restaurants makes its way back into the garden as compost and, importantly, there is not a pesticide in sight.”
Glass recycling
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“It’s through the glass recycling efforts that this vision of giving back to the island is most visible — quite literally, in the paving stones that guide your way through the resort. Waste glass at COMO Parrot Cay crushed and ground into sand using innovative new machines designed in Europe. They provide a valuable construction material that, in a blossoming tourist destination like the Turks and Caicos, is in constant demand. By creating our own sand from waste glass, we avoid using any of the naturally-occuring sand that make up our beautiful beaches, protecting our island’s shores and the shores of our neighbours too.”
Plastic recycling
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“When considering the uses for discarded plastics, you’d be forgiven for not having high-end design items at the top of your list. However, that’s exactly what’s being planned here at COMO Parrot Cay. We aim to reduce the waste we send to landfill to as little as possible within the next five years; transforming waste plastics in creative ways will play a major part in this. It’s still early days for this initiative, but there are exciting times ahead, and it won’t be long before you can spot the first recycled plastic accessories in our COMO Beach Club and Terrace Bar.”
See for yourself to become a part of our COMO Parrot Cay story.
