A project that involves consumers, producers and businesses seeks to reduce the environmental impact generated by plastic in Costa Rica, a material from which some 52 tons of waste are released into the environment daily in this country.
The coordinator of the project “Consumption 180, ideas in action”, Juan Carlos Piñar said in the presentation of the initiative that in 2021 it is estimated that in Costa Rica 52 tons of plastic waste leaked into the environment per day, which means “a call of attention to which we must act”.
The initiative, financed by France and executed by the Ministry of Environment and Energy, and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), seeks to work on the generation and validation of data on the plastic footprint and contribute to the creation of a national inventory of flow of plastic materials.
The project also has pilot plans for the reduction and recovery of plastic in retail chains, education and awareness campaigns, and pilot plans in two municipalities in the province of San José (center) to improve collection, collection, processing, and recycling systems. The goal is to replicate these pilot plans throughout the country in the future.
Strong affectation
“Plastics in the environment turn into microplastics and are strongly affecting us,” Piñar explained, pointing out the effects on the oceans and on living beings in general.
The objectives of the plan are to minimize the impact of plastic waste on the environment and health, reduce the release of toxic substances and exposure, change consumption and production patterns.
Avoid living with the back to the sea, rivers and lakes
The UNDP representative in Costa Rica, José Vicente Troya, lamented that humanity “has been used to living with its back to the sea, rivers and lakes” and asserted that plastic pollution “is a global crisis” before which everyone’s participation is required to face it.”It is vital to understand that we are all responsible and stop being mere spectators to be agents of change,” he said.
The initiative that was presented this past Thursday joins others that are underway in Costa Rica, a country that has a law in force to combat plastic pollution.One of the projects being carried out in Costa Rica is “Landscapes without plastic”, which seeks to remove 200,000 tons of non-recoverable plastic waste from the environment by 2030.
The plan includes raising awareness among citizens, coordinating cleaning and recycling campaigns, as well as fixing non-recoverable waste in construction materials.
