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When walking through the streets of the capital, commercial establishments, parks and even In entertainment centers it is increasingly common to see at least three trash cans with instructions for the population to classify the disposable waste they use every day.
According to the Dominican ecological platform Green Love, “recycling is an excellent way to show social responsibility, reduce the carbon footprint and be a responsible consumer”.
Both public and private institutions have implemented recycling in their spaces.
According to reports requested from the Transport Reorganization Office (Opret)In 2021, 266,955 Tetra Pak containers, aluminum cans and plastic bottles were recycled at the Santo Domingo Metro facilities.
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These machines are found in the Metro stations Concepción Bona, Eduardo Brito, Juan Pablo Duarte, María Montez and Centro de los Héroes. The most recycled material was the plastic bottle with 183,369; followed by aluminum cans with a total of 52,562 and Tetra Pak containers with 31,024.
This waste is recycled with Recybot, the first automatic recycling machine created in the country .
“Users deposit their containers and receive an incentive in return consisting of recharging a Dominican peso in the travel card for every four containers deposited & rdquo ; the institution.
On the other hand, the Mayor’s Office of the National District carries out each the collection of plastic bottles in neighborhoods in exchange for toys. So far, it has been carried out twice, the first in January 2021 when 1,042,000 plastic bottles were collected and in January 2022, with the delivery of 1,614,000.
According to the Directorate of Innovation and Special Projects of the Mayor’s Office, these plastics were delivered to the company Eco-Clear Dominicana for the management and recycling of this waste.
Furthermore, as part of the activity, the sponsoring companies contributed toys, while the Mayor’s Office contributed toys. 1,605,537 pesos for production and logistics.
The Punta Cana Group also has a recycling program “Download Zero” or better known by its English name Zero Waste, considered the first and largest solid management program in the Dominican Republic.
In 2007 the Punta Cana Group built The Recycling and Incineration Center (CRI), where the waste is separated.
According to data provided by this organization, since then more than 17,000 tons of solid waste, which have subsequently been converted into 83,556 cubic meters of unused landfill and 58,771 cubic meters of carbon dioxide not produced as a pollutant in the atmosphere, also generating more than 70 tons of fertilizer. organic per year.
Likewise, only in 2018 those wastes produced by airplanes, hotels, bars and restaurants, golf courses, electricity companies, industrial laundry in Punta Cana were recycled and transformed into natural fertilizer. This caused 60 percent of the waste to be diverted from the local landfill.
The Dominican National Brewery has the “Recycle 100+” program, with which it has distributed at least 550 collection centers throughout the country.
“The The objective of the program is to be able to collect 1 million pounds of PET waste monthly throughout the country, equivalent to 20 million plastic bottles, which is the amount of PET that we use each month for the packaging of our products”, indicates the company on its website. These resources are then sent to Peru.
How to recycle?
Each material must be recycled in a particular way.
According to the Green Love platform, paper (magazines, newspapers, books…) should not be wrinkled.
In the case of Tetra Pak, it should be disassembled, crushed and cut , rinse and then deposit it in the corresponding garbage can. And, if it is cardboard, it must be uncovered and unfolded.
Not all crystal or glass can be recycled. Only green or amber colored bottles, cups, glasses, product packaging, among others. However, mirrors, windows, light bulbs and lampshades cannot be recycled.
Aluminum cans should be uncorked, drained and then crushed.
Indicators
By 2020, 413,898 metric tons had been generated in the Dominican Republic, according to a sustainability report by the Inter-American Development Bank.
Estimates indicate that by 2030, 93.7 percent of the waste in the Dominican Republic will be poorly managed and that we will accumulate an average of 409,798 metric tons.
The figures for 2050 They indicate that the resources discarded will be 449,328 metric tons.