The non-profit association Nueva Vida para los Residuos (NUVI) announced yesterday that it assumes the “ambitious” goal of collecting 90 million pounds of plastics in the next five years, which is equivalent to an increase of 70% of the total plastic which is currently collected in the Dominican Republic.
“For more than four years -especially from the AIRD and more recently from NUVI- we have assumed the commitment to achieve a cultural change in the industries that would lead them towards a transition from a linear productive economy model to a circular economy business model. sustainable and respectful of the environment, thus generating a change in behavior in companies to comply with the principle of Extended Producer Responsibility, which is nothing more than the commitment to properly manage post-consumer waste from the materials they produce, distribute or market”, said Circe Almánzar, executive vice president of the Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic (AIRD) and president of NUVI.
Almánzar spoke in these terms at the launch of the formation of the first integrated management system for plastic bottles of PET called NUVI PETa “successful and growing” project, which arises as an extended responsibility commitment of 19 large companies that joined forces and that now shows greater strength and dynamism thanks to the alliance with Cervecería Nacional Dominicana (CND), the company with the largest experience in the collection of glass bottles in the country, who will assume the management of this business initiative.
“We come full of encouragement and energy, very happy to contribute our experience to the strengthening of NUVI PET, and even more, to work as an alliance towards the fulfillment of goals as ambitious as the collection and recycling of 90 million pounds of plastics for the next five years. A figure that in itself is significant, but that doubles its value when we know that it is 70 percent more than the plastic that is currently collected in the country,” said Fabián Suárez, president of CND.
He highlighted that for more than 50 years the Brewery has developed a glass bottle collection chain with more than 550 collection points throughout the country, evolving in 2018, to also collect plastic bottles and with which he has achieved the collection of more than 5 million pounds of plastic.
“For Cervecería, the articulation of alliances drives the growth engine of our country. It seems to me that there is no better example than NUVI PETwhere the entire industry is working together under the same vision of creating more progress for Dominicans through circular packaging,” he added.
For his part, Juan Amell, spokesman for NUVI PET and president of the advisory council of Recolectiva, reported that “Recolectiva brings together 19 partners, including beverage bottlers and plastic converters, as well as private sector companies committed to the environment and the country’s well-being. Although they are direct competitors in the market, these local and multinational companies, large and small, are united around a common purpose”.
He said that, as a result of the agreement with Cervecería, there are currently 10 bottle racks collecting thousands of plastic bottles in Greater Santo Domingo, with the projection of enabling 100 bottle racks with an estimated collection of more than 90 million pounds in the first five years of operation.
He added that NUVI PETdedicated 100% to the plastic bottleshas as its main objectives the dissemination of communication campaigns around recycling and the circular economy, continuing to carry out institutional agreements, both with the public and private sectors, as well as the execution of educational campaigns.
During the activity, a tribute was paid to Orlando Jorge Mera, former Minister of Environment recently killed.
