San Pedro Town Council Foreman Samuel Gonzalez is scheduled to leave the country for a four-day training in El Salvador. Gonzalez will leave on the 5th of June and expected back on the 9th of June and will receive training in solid waste management. Gonzalez will be part of a larger Belizean delegation that will receive training in solid waste management as part of the national Solid Waste Management Plan.
The national Solid Waste Management Plan that is yet to be adopted proposes a transfer station for the transportation of solid waste from off San Pedro Ambergris Caye. When the plan is in place, garbage will be barged off the island from a station in San Pedro Town in a specialized container to a propose site near Belize City, then transported to mile 22 on the Western Highway.
According to Gonzalez, the training will be concentrated in sorting out recyclable materials as well as sorting out solid waste. It will also look at aspects in the area of management of transfer stations and the transportation of solid waste. For Gonzalez the training is a big step forward especially since the issue of solid waste is a major problem on the island. “The issue of solid waste needs to be dealt with more aggressively. This is a tourism destination and we need to take care of the island,” said Gonzalez.
The Belize delegation will be trained through an initiative of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, which is tasked to implement the National Solid Waste Management Plan. Up to date, there has been no indication from the Government of Belize as to when the National Solid Waste Management Plan will go into effect.
