CUBANS BECOME MASTERS IN RECYCLING ENTERPRISES

As reported in the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel (1/11/07), just about everything in Cuba seems to be reused. A plastic CD cover doubles as a picture frame. Drinking glasses are cut down Havana Club rum bottles. Ariel Rodriguez makes new keys from old ones, shaping them on a key-copying machine bought

broken and fixed with parts from a grain mill. "Cave men figured out how to cook with fire. We invent ways to get by," says 34-year-old Rodriguez. Fernando Alberto Delgado makes his living refilling disposable lighters, charging clients a fraction of what it would cost for new ones. Delgado, 37, claims to make more money in the lighter-refill business then in his plumbing job.

In 1961, Che Guevera led a state company to recover metals from waste. The objective: To save on imports, boost exports, expand industry and create jobs. Recycling on this Caribbean island has become an art. Craftsmen turn coconuts into decorative boats and cigar labels into coasters for sale to tourists. Barbaro Bernardo Osuna, 35, incorporates Cuban newspapers into colorful, acrylic paintings. Labels from Bucanero beer and Havana Club rum are used in collages to identify the works as Cuban.

In a nation where salaries average $15/month, necessity motivates. "Sure, I'd like to use new supplies," says an eyeglass repairman. "But used ones are cheaper, and I can't charge too much. They can't afford it."