Recycling in San Juan del Sur
Dear community members of San Juan del Sur,
Comunidad Connect is proud to announce the successful creation of the Municipal Recycling Program, with the active participation of the Mayor’s office, and funding from Pelican Eyes Piedras y Olas and DED, a German inter-governmental organization. Comunidad Connect will administer a year-long pilot project after which control will be passed over to the alcadía. The rest of this press release explains the pilot project and asks for your support in this important endeavor.
The pilot project, designed to “learn by doing”, is divided into three phases. The first one, which has already started, has five municipal workers sorting out plastics from other trash at the dump and separating them by type and color. The sorted materials are sold to a collecting depot and the income is reinvested into the project. Phase two, which starts in February, incorporates worm castings and organic composting. The resulting top-soil will be available for sale within three months of the start of this phase. The last phase is focused on an educational campaign throughout the San Juan del Sur community in order to promote separation of recyclable materials at home and at work. It also incorporates a plant nursery which will use the top-soil from composting. The plants, ranging from roses to citrus trees, will also be for sale.
Waste management is clearly an issue that affects all of us, and as such, we should all try to contribute as much as we can. Please sort out plastic coke and shampoo bottles, hard plastics, as well as glass and aluminum. Look on the underside of the container to see if it’s recyclable. If you can, please bring separated trash to the workers near the building on the north side of the dump on the Chocolata road. If you do not have the means to bring separated trash to the dump, please let Comunidad Connect know and we will look for transport. We are working with the mayor’s office on a schedule to pick up sorted materials. Once phase two is launched next month, Comunidad Connect will be asking local restaurants, as well as individuals, to separate their kitchen wastes.
If you would like to contribute to this project, we always welcome advice and new ideas. Please do not hesitate to email Roman Yavich, roman@ComunidadConnect.org with any questions or to request transport for separated trash. Together we can achieve more sustainable resource management in San Juan del Sur.
Sincerely,
Roman Yavich
Comunidad Connect