Among the observations made to the Solid Waste Law The prohibition of specific plastic containers, such as straws, plastic bags and cutlery, is contemplated; materials whose replacement by biodegradable products It would not generate an economic problem for consumers.
This was indicated by the head of the Ministry of Environment, Paino Henriquezduring the Free Dialogue. The official pointed out that the provisions do not contemplate, in a first stage, products such as containers used for food or the “dish of the day”, due to the costs that this could entail for consumers.
“The biodegradable options or that can be composted, such as cardboard and cane fiber, have a significant difference in price and would increase the cost of the dish of the day. We have more than a million daily consumers of the dish of the day and, if you raise it by 20 or 25 pesos, you impact the family basket,” he indicated.
Henríquez added that the provisions also include a restriction on foam imports, because “they are even competing with the local production and that has generated even greater volumes.
“Starting next year, what the law requires is that the type of foam that is used is biodegradable, an issue that we are also discussing with the plastic sector to define what standards and what chemical components could declare this foam as biodegradable,” the minister explained.
He COVID-19 and consumer habits GSD
The head of the Environment highlighted that the management of solid wastes constitutes a challenge, due to the increase in the population’s consumption and generation of waste, in addition to the “serious weaknesses” in its management.
In that sense, Henríquez cited a 2015 study from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) that indicated that the Greater Santo Domingo It generated about 3,000 tons of waste daily, with a projection of 5,000 tons by 2030. However, by 2025 the demarcation will almost exceed 6,000 tons of garbage.
“What we have verified due to the type of waste we are receiving is that the pandemic greatly modified the consumption patterns of the Greater Santo Domingo (…) Now there are more applications to order food and not cook at home, which has generated a different volume of waste than what was produced before: more organic and now also more plastics and single-use packaging,” he explained.
He explained that the lack of a harvest and an effective transfer has caused this waste to reach the ravines and rivers of the cities.
The past director of the Sustainable DO Trust added: “We carried out a survey, in our previous functions, and it was identified that more than 500 tons of wasteespecially single-use packaging and plastics, were impacting the Ozama and Isabela basin on a daily basis. “This is an emergency situation that we have to address.”
The minister indicated that, with the implementation of the Extended Producer Responsibility Regulation – a mandate of the Waste Law that establishes that those who benefit from the product that originates the waste must collect it -, they seek to correct this situation. The initiative is currently in public hearings.
“By investing in biodiversity, in protected areas and the protection of our watersheds, you are investing in the development and sustainability of the country”Environment Minister
basins and rivers: the axis of environmental policy
When asked about the response of the Ministry of Environment before the river degradation In the Dominican Republic, a reality confirmed and reviewed by Diario Libre, the minister explained that the strategic focus of the institution is to comprehensively manage the basins, since “85% of the upper basins are protected areas.”
He reported that plans are already underway for the basins of the Northern YaqueYuna and Yaque del Sur, with financing that, in some cases, exceeds 200 million dollars and with coordinated work together with the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (Indrhi), local NGOs and international cooperation.
The initiatives also involve projects for the next six years with an investment of 10,000 million pesos that include the construction of aqueducts.
He cited the plan of Northern Yaquewhich includes reforestationdrainage works, wastewater treatment and actions in micro-basins.
The complexity of the aggregate extraction
Henríquez recognized that the illegal extraction of aggregates in the rivers constitutes one of the most complex and challenging challenges, since it works as a organized structure with alert systems and collection centers, in the midst of a national demand that turns the arid business into a market of up to 50 million cubic meters per year, with prices that range between 800 and 1,000 pesos per cubic meter.
He assured that his management has not granted extraction permits in rivers and that the operations have reduced the availability of material, even generating shortages in the market and pressures from the construction sector due to the increase in aggregate prices; an example of the “development dilemma” faced by the Ministry.
- As alternatives, he cited the use of dry quarries and the upcoming start of dredging of the Valdesia dam, which contains some 35 million cubic meters of sediments that can be used.
