Garbage, candidates and tourists

Santo Domingo.- This week’s rains again revealed the poor management of solid waste in the capital and the interior provinces most affected by the storm surge. Garbage clogging the scuppers and garbage floating in floods created chaos in the traffic, and once again, too many families were affected when the waters receded.

Although we are already living in a heated electoral campaign, garbage has not been an issue mainly attacked by the opposition (either it does not care or does not have a plan), nor has the party in government defended with heat its current projects to control the issue.

Many studies analyze the impact of the hotel sector on the generation of solid waste, especially plastics. However, few focus on how garbage and its mismanagement affect tourism.

Three months ago, friends in their thirties decided to vacation in the Dominican Republic. They live in Mexico City, and since they know Caribbean beaches well, they look forward to touring the country and looking for more than just the beach and the sun. They stay in Colonial City, and their first impression is good—and fun. They rented a vehicle and set out to tour the island, with Samana and the east coast as must-see destinations.

On their return, they shared many good experiences, anecdotes, and two observations: there are so many benches and garbage!

The proliferation of the benches deserves a complex study that begins by understanding the composition of the Congress and the number of legislators who have passed—are currently and will come after August—to legislate on the subject. Is it very complicated to explain to tourists arriving for a week?

The young people were astonished without hiding their disgust at the garbage accumulated in improvised dumps and every corner of the towns and cities they visited on their trip. They were also surprised at the trash scattered on the roads, beaches, and rivers.

Unfortunately, they were right. We have become accustomed to it and are not shocked by garbage. It bothers us if it gets out of control, but it is part of our daily landscape, urban or rural.

Responsibility

By Law 64-00 (Articles 26 and 106), municipalities must create their Environmental Management Units (UGAM) to take responsibility for the management and final disposal of solid waste. In 2022, 90 towns already had a unit formed but needed better capacity and functionality. The private sector can develop plans and strategies to control its waste, but the municipalities are responsible for landfills and collection in their municipalities.

Luis Abinader’s government created the Public-Private Trust Fund for Integrated Waste Management in 2021. The first stage, worth P13.29 billion, will be deployed between that year and 2023. Little news is available on how the project is progressing, and its website is more institutional than informative.

Focused on eliminating open dumps, the plan presented by the president foresaw four years in 2023; the goal is 2027. Paíno Henríquez, its director, explained a year ago that the landfills (Dajabón, La Altagracia, Santo Domingo East, and Santiago) were already operating in “compliance” with the law. There has not been much more progress.

It is a worldwide problem that aggravates local characteristics. According to a study by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, “the recreational use of Mediterranean beaches during the summer is responsible for up to 80% of marine litter.” Citizen awareness campaigns worked, and a 50% reduction in visitor waste was achieved.

The number of tourists and the concentration in specific points can be compared to the situation in the Mediterranean. However, it is an experience that other leaders in tourism have gone through, and the terrible waste management in our country requires urgent decisions.

International organizations took notice of the problem years ago. The German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), in 2018, located 325 landfills nationwide. It described that more than landfills, they were dumps as they lacked “an adequate management system affecting air, soil, and water.” In 2023, the closure of Duquesa, the largest open-pit landfill in Latin America, was announced.

Ecored’s partners’ actions are crucial but should not replace public responsibility.

Since 2021, the World Bank has been sounding the alarm on waste production. According to its forecasts, its volume could increase by up to 70% worldwide by 2050.

The United Nations Environment Program’s (UNEP) Transforming Tourism into Action project aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by tourism in ten countries, including the Dominican Republic.

Sustainability projects in the hotel sector are becoming increasingly comprehensive and complex. They address the problem at its source, the production of waste. Those in the public sector focus on fixing the consequences: the final landfills. However, in the chain, from the generation, handling, and transportation of waste, there is still no municipality with a comprehensive project that seems minimally sustainable over time.

The rains come and reveal the reality.