Fernando González Nicolás
The president of the Round Table of the Commonwealth Countries in the Dominican Republic, Fernando González Nicolás, clarified that banning plastics is not the most practical or economical measure to avoid contamination.
He said that, at present, certified technologies guarantee the conversion of plastics into water and biomass so that they do not contaminate the environment.
He said that the Oxo-biodegradation technology makes it possible to biodegrade plastics at the end of their useful life so they do not pollute. Great Britain leads this technology, which has been adopted in Commonwealth countries to combat pollution.
He emphasized that plastic as packaging has excellent versatility and a very competitive cost. The alternatives to replace plastic are much more expensive and have environmental implications.
He highlighted the influence of the plastics industry on the Dominican economy. This industry employs 41,485 employees in 472 industries, which export 546 million dollars annually.
The export destinations of plastics are the United States, Haiti, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. He highlighted it as essential to understand the difference between the Oxo-biodegradation of plastic that converts microplastics into water and biomass, not allowing them to contaminate.