Why waste disposal is very important in Latin America

“If there is a city, there will be waste. And as that city grows there will be more waste to be managed”

Latin American countries are developing and growing rapidly and therefore, waste management has become more and more challenging. The good news is that terms such green cities, recycling and environmentally friendly are becoming more familiar in these countries. This is an indicator that governments and private sector with the common citizens are becoming more aware of the problems that waste is generating. The countries in Latin America are also aware of the benefits they can get from good waste management policies and practices. We at Cross Wrap are very glad to see these positive signs in the region. This year alone we have noticed that some governments are taking steps forward to change the waste management practices in their countries. We give you three examples:

1. The President of Bolivia recently announced that there will be a new regulation for waste management. The regulation is expected to be ready in 2016.
2. The President of Venezuela inaugurated perhaps the biggest waste management project in whole South America at the beginning of November. He said that he will make arrangements to build ten waste management plants in order to handle the waste management issues.
3. There is a huge sanitary emergency in Bucaramanga. This Colombian city is struggling with tremendous waste problem and both government and private companies have been discussing about the alternatives to arrange the waste chaos.

Why waste management initiatives are relevant right now?

The waste and the environmental management are not just trends. There is a real need to find solutions not only in Latin America, but in many developing countries. The urgency to take actions are based on the following reasons:

• They are running out of space. Cities are growing and people are moving to suburbs and to the rural areas. As they move they are getting closer to areas in which trash has been deposited, such as open landfills. Previously, the waste problem was seen as something far away, now it is seen as something that is getting closer to the people and thus disturbing their daily lives. 
• Open landfill. The open space in which waste are just thrown are now becoming obsolete. Open landfills are known to pollute the environment. Cities are becoming conscious that places like these just call for insects, rats, odors and diseases such as plagues. The bad waste management can be translated into increasing healthcare costs. Overall, this means that the living in the same neighborhood with the open landfill can be very challenging. Luckily, some of the open landfills are getting closed. This means that they need to take serious actions to manage the existing as well as the growing waste.
• Tourism. Tourism is a very important industry in Latin American countries.  No-one wants to visit a dirty and smelly destinations or put themselves at a health risk during the holidays.
• Price of Energy. The traditional resources (e.g. oil and gas) prices are changing dramatically. People are looking for new alternatives to generate energy. Why not to use the waste as a source of energy? 
• Environmental awareness. People in Latin America are becoming more aware of recycling. They are now taking care of environment and decreasing pollution. Slowly but steadily, people are getting more conscious of the role that they play in handling environmental issues. This consequently affects the governments as they are forced by the citizens to find solutions for basic issues such as recycling and garbage management.

How to manage the environmental pollution?

It is actually quite simple. Many of these challenges are related to poor waste management and can be solved by cleaning the waste in the cities and municipalities. Cleaning the city does not mean transporting the waste from one city to another or to the rural areas. We need more permanent solutions. In the past cleaning the city could have be seen as a problem. Now, thanks for new waste management technology the city cleaning is much easier and more affordable.

We at Cross Wrap can help you to find the right solutions for your waste management challenge. Our solution for environmental management is bale, wrap, storage or transport – and repeat! Our machines are designed to operate under hot temperatures and our patented method is the best alternative to wrap your waste in humid weathers.

Rossana Sand

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