[jkheel]

Thanks to Keith et al for the comments and thanks to Jennifer for publishing this article. This Center for Recycling and Incineration is really just beginning and is one piece in our efforts in Integrated Solid Waste Management, but I am happy to fill you in on some additional details about the program.

The Incineration aspect of the facility is to incinerate international waste generated from airplanes at the PUNTACANA International Airport, which we own and operate. Incineration is required by international regulations and every airport in the world should have one, not just Punta Cana. Recognizing the possible impact on air quality, we purchased a model from an American company that complies with EPA regulations. We have a second incinerator being manufactured from the US.

Since not all waste generated from airplanes can be easily incinerated or should not be incinerated due to impacts on air quality, and since much of the material coming of airplanes can be recycled, airports can get a concession from the Secretary of Agriculture, specifically the sub secretary that deals with quarantine, to separate out certain inorganic waste and avoid incineration.

We are currently removing approximately one ton of this material a day from the airport waste stream and separating it for recycling. As I mentioned, this project is in its early stages. At present we sell the recyclable materials (glass, cardboard, magazines, paper, plastics) to intermediaries for recycling. We just purchased and received a new industrial compactor, which will allow us to compact these materials and sell them directly to larger recyclers for export or directly to national manufacturers for reuse. At present, since the material is not compacted, it is difficult to transport and less attractive to larger purchasers.

In the next months, we will begin door-to-door waste collection at all of the private homes within PUNTACANA Resort & Club and also in all other businesses of our property, such as restaurants and hotels. We will be initiating separation of organic and inorganic waste from the source (from each home, hotel, restaurant) and send all recyclable material to the CRI. The organic materials will be used in combination in our existing worm composting operation and also in a second option, which we are in the process of studying now and I am not able to mention in detail.

The idea behind all of this is to get our property to be a zero discharge community (or as close as possible), to not contribute any waste to the less-than-optimal waste sites available in the region, and to create examples of integrated solid waste management that can be replicated on different scales and in different industries throughout the country.

On June 5 at FUNGLODE at 8:30 AM we will make a presentation at the Red Nacional de Apoyo Empresarial a la Proteccion del Medio Ambiente (RENAEPA) about our program. I encourage you to come so you can hear more.

Jake Kheel
Environmental Director
Grupo PUNTACANA