Whilst the Foundation’s Ambassador vessel is on a technical stopover in Chile (Concepcíon), the shore teams are continuing the actions initiated during the stopover in the Dominican Republic in August 2017 and then a follow-up visit back in January to promote and implement sustainable technological solutions to combat plastic pollution! A solution put forward by the Foundation to transform plastic waste into energy using high-temperature pyrolysis, value is given to waste that was previously worthless, thus encouraging its collection. Such a technology will have lasting social, environmental and economic benefits.
“Let’s take action for Domingo Savio”
Since the stopover in August 2017, Marco Simeoni, President of the Foundation and Camille Rollin, head of the “Plastic Waste To Energy” project have made their second trip back to the Dominican Republic and are working closely with the Dominican NGO Heroes del Medio Ambiente, which has been working on the problem of waste management for the past 12 years.
Their common goal is to install technology enabling plastics to be converted into energy at the very heart of the DOMINGO SAVIO district, which is particularly affected by the plastic waste issue. Such a system would enable them to process the bulk of the non-recyclable plastics directly on site.
Camille Rollin: “Converting plastic waste into electricity using a medium-sized high-temperature pyrolysis unit geared around the volume of waste generated in the district, would create local jobs for the collection process, whilst educating the population about ways to preserve the environment. Reducing the challenges involved in the transport, logistics and the excessive number of intermediaries, by acting as closely as possible to the source of the waste, is also a guarantee of the efficiency offered up by this management model”.
First coordination meeting
Conscious that solutions must be implemented jointly, the Race for Water Foundation and Heroes del Medio Ambiente, came together on 21 June 2018 for a first meeting to coordinate the key protagonists of this project under development, protagonists who will make Domingo Savio an example in the management of its plastic waste.
In this way, the members of the Ministry of the Environment, the Town of Santo Domingo, the Mancomunidad of greater Santo Domingo, the CDEEE (Electricity distributor), URBE (presidential project to rehabilitate the Domingo Savio district), the Tropigas Foundation and representatives from the local community committed to giving their all to make this project a success.
Marco Simeoni: “It’s a matter of great urgency and we’re delighted to be able to count on the willingness of each and every one of the participants to respond to this local issue, which is a reflection of what has become a global challenge today”.