Santo Domingo. – The United States Government through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) signed an agreement with the Center for the Conservation and Eco-Development of the Bay of Samaná and its Environment (CEBSE ) and its associates, the Samaná Environmental Forum and Dominican Ecoservices to identify and analyze a series of practical methods to reduce the amount of plastics and the impact of waste through changes in community and domestic management of these. This agreement is made under USAID’s Clean Cities, Blue Ocean program.

Through this agreement, CEBSE and its associates will meet with members, communities and businesses in the province of Samaná to carry out a community investigation on how the population produces and disposes of waste and the reasons behind these practices.

Based on the findings, community members and other local partners will commit to testing new and effective practices that help stop the growing production of waste, especially plastics, which ends up in rivers, Samaná Bay and the ocean. Currently, waste collection services do not reach an estimated 25% of households in the Dominican Republic and, with few alternatives for waste disposal, the impact on health and the environment has worsened.

MORE