Alert that new waste law would limit the recovery of recyclable materials
Santo Domingo.– The Association of Hotels and Tourism of the Dominican Republic (Asonahores) reiterated this Wednesday that it will continue to promote dialogue with the authorities to review the recently approved amendment to the General Law on Integral Management and Co-processing of Solid Waste, considering that its content could generate an economic impact on companies in the sector and that it was approved without the necessary level of consensus.
The president of Asonahores, Juan Bancalari, maintained that any legislation affecting productive sectors must be the result of a broad process of discussion and consultation, which is why he questioned the speed with which Congress reviewed the amendments to the regulations.
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“We understand that laws must be subject to study and discussion. These changes were made in a manner and with an urgency that we do not understand. The prudent thing would be to observe the law and allow for a discussion to seek the best outcome and for the productive sectors to be able to express their opinion,” he/she stated.
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Bancalari stated that consensus must prevail in the drafting of any legislation and pointed out that, in his view, that process did not occur with this reform.
“If we analyze that there was already a practically approved version and then it was approved in Congress in just two hours, it is very difficult to reach a consensus on a law in that time. It was not consulted,” he stated.
The business leader indicated that Asonahores will maintain a joint position with the National Council of Private Enterprise (Conep) to ensure that the regulation is reviewed through dialogue between the parties involved.
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“We are not in favor of rushed approvals. It is always important to maintain dialogue, analyze the law, and ensure that everything comes from a consensus,” he emphasized.
As an example of the tourism sector’s concerns, Bancalari explained that some provisions could affect the economic utilization of recyclable waste generated by hotels.
He cited the case of used oil, which can currently be marketed for recycling processes, and warned that, according to the interpretation made by specialists, the new legislation would limit that possibility.
“If I generate wealth, I should be able to exploit it and not have to give it up. That is an example of aspects that deserve a deeper discussion,” he indicated.
However, he specified that there are still points in the law that require further technical analysis and avoided issuing definitive conclusions on the entire content of the regulation.
The National Congress passed the amendment to the General Law on Integral Management and Coprocessing of Solid Waste into law, an initiative proposed by Senator Antonio Marte. Among the changes is an increase in the financial contributions that companies must make to fund the national waste management system, an aspect that has generated questions from various business sectors.
