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I interpreted this as a question meant to raise people awareness of the refuse problem on the island. People take an educated or not so educated guess and in the end we learn the facts, that landfills on an island are finite.
I interpreted this as a question meant to raise people awareness of the refuse problem on the island. People take an educated or not so educated guess and in the end we learn the facts, that landfills on an island are finite.
Bingo! You nailed it!
This has to be Puerto Rico's most overlooked, most neglected issue. The existing landfills have but a scant few years before they are filled to capacity. Each government administration keeps moving the issue on to "the next" administration, because raising the topic results in political losses, versus gains. Waste-to-Energy is not wanted anywhere on the island despite the desperate need for this technology. All the while, the island continues to wallow in its own trash with no plan or strategy in sight.
I read the article. 11 millions tons/day is definitely way off track. However, Puerto Rico's YEARLY waste tonage is in the millions.
There are island nations who are studying Puerto Rico's lack of a viable waste management plan as a model which NOT to follow. A now closed landfill in the island of Saipan is sadly yet aptly named. . .Puerto Rico. Other island nations are sitting, observing and taking note of what Puerto Rico is failing to do.
Naming a dump "Puerto Rico" may seem disrespectful. However, what is truly disrespectful is to see Puerto Rico's politicians look the other way when it comes to waste management. Administration after administration has swept this issue under the rug because there is more to lose politically than there is to gain. Uninformed groups are adamantly opposed to WTE anywhere on the island. However, these groups offer no viable alternatives. The only (unrealistic) proposal they've placed on the table is to recycle "everything." Given Puerto Rico's dismal recycling record, recycling "everything" is highly unattainable.
Last edited by chacho_keva; 02-07-2011 at 12:13 PM..
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