Costa Rica promotes project to solve plastic pollution

San Jose, July 6 (EFE). Costa Rica has promoted the “Landscape Without Plastic” project, an initiative that seeks to solve plastic pollution and remove 200,000 tons of non-reusable plastic waste from the environment by 2030, organizers said Wednesday. .

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP), together with Pedregal and CRDC Global, launched the plan which includes raising awareness among citizens, coordinating clean-up and recycling campaigns, as well as repairing non-recoverable waste in building materials.

Our vision is to make Costa Rica the first country in the world to solve the tragic plastic problem. “We have formidable allies and we want to organize a national campaign in which no one is left behind by participating in a historic solution that can inspire the rest of the world,” said UNDP Resident Representative in Costa Rica, José Vicente Troya.

For authorities, plastic pollution is one of the biggest environmental challenges facing humanity and represents a major challenge for vulnerable populations who live near rivers or depend on coastal or marine ecosystems in Costa Rica.

Data from the Ministry of Health reveals that more than 40 tons of plastic waste is not collected or picked up daily by collection and recycling systems, and this means that 314,000 tons of plastic waste have leaked into the environment so far this century. These non-reusable plastics that seep into the environment are called “tragic plastics.”

The project will strengthen and coordinate a media campaign and a logistical network throughout the national territory.

Private and municipal collection and recycling centers will be included to increase the volume of recoverable waste they receive, and to serve as transfer centers for non-recoverable waste to Pedregal’s processing plant, located in Heredia County (central), where it will be converted into raw materials for construction using CRDC technology.

Converting this non-reusable plastic material will allow it to be re-introduced into the construction industry, where it will be used in the manufacture of concrete blocks, pavers, precast concrete and asphalt, among other building products.

Fundación One joined the initiative to develop a fundraising campaign and provide material incentives such as compressors, as well as support funding for transportation of non-recoverable waste to the processing plant. EFE

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