Iván Rodriguez, from Trashforma, understands that although there is still a long way to go to generate a culture of recycling in the country, the mere fact of implementing the practice of recycling at home can have a tremendous impact on the environment.
“Every day the material is collected from the Buenaventura collection center and taken to the treatment plant where it is classified. They remove the recycled material three times a month,” said Alejandro Rivera, administrator of PH N1.
Since November of last year, more than seven tons of glass have been removed from the Collection Center, located in Puntarena. For some time now, the administration of the PH Buenaventura has conscientiously worked on recycling issues and since November 2021 they began working together with Trashforma.
For example, since that date, more than 7 tons of glass have been collected. To graph the number’s impact on the environment, the Trashforma team compares it data on savings. In this case, that figure would correspond to more than 3,105 days of a 100w bulb on.
As Iván Rodriguez, from Trashforma, points out, “this is just a reference and it is a good way of teaching. Because the real impact of these actions is much greater.”
This enterprise was born with the aim of using recycling as a tool for social and environmental transformation in Panama City. Today, in addition to handling the logistics of the collection, they make glass cups that are used in various restaurants in the city.
And although the culture of recycling is not yet fully developed in the country, Iván believes that if everyone begins to implement small actions, their impact on the environment will be visible.
“If people simply cleaned the material, dried, separated, disposed of it correctly, and left it in the collection center, we would reduce approximately 40% of the volume of garbage in each house,” Iván stated before continuing. This is a tremendous exercise; simple and it can make a big difference. Now imagine that same thing in a community of 1,500 people. Recycling management would generate an incredible impact. The rest is logistics.
Little by little, more communities are joining the culture of recycling, especially on the coast. Beaches are a resource that must be valued and where waste must be managed. The benefits of recycling are many, from logistics to environmental ones.
“We have to take advantage of the presence of foreigners in the country. Most of them have better knowledge and culture on the subject and even many already practice it. I would love to know how many people recycle to measure the real impact of what we are doing,” said Rodríguez.
