Ambergris Caye Belize Resort Development - Department of ...

the landfill when ready. Used batteries and waste oil will be contained in the containment
walls constructed for the fuel tanks. These will be adequately stored and discarded by a
certified disposal for recycling.
Toxic waste is outright dangerous to human health and should only be handled with
specialized equipment and carefully disposed of far away from any inhabited area.
7.7 Waste Minimization Strategies
Transportation of waste materials from the site by whatever means will be an expensive
proposition given the fact that ABR is a great distance from San Pedro where the waste
disposal site is located. The developers will understandably be loath to bear this cost and
will therefore aggressively pursue other less expensive options as long as they are
compatible with maintaining sound environmental values. The developer is therefore well
advice to subscribe to the new terminology associated with solid waste management. The
three R’s as it’s called refer to reduction, recycling and reuse of the generated solid
waste. This process should be greatly incorporated as a proposition of reducing the solid
waste thereby reducing the overhead expenses associated with the incineration of such
waste.
These options are now examined in turn with a view of applying them to solving the
expected waste disposal problems of the site.
(i) Reduction – The developer of the resort should work with all the inhabitants
of the area both permanent and transient to create a hierarchy of waste
management where simply reducing the amounts of waste generated should be
a priority. Such a reduction can take many forms but is especially evident in
such ways as reducing the amounts of shopping bags and packaging brought
from the store by buying products with less packaging and taking ones own
bag to calculating construction materials more accurately to take account of
waste etc. He should also purchase his goods in bulk obviating the need for
many small packages.
(ii) Reuse - Once materials are bought they should be reused as many times as
possible. There are many opportunities for reusing products such as
substituting Styrofoam plates and cups with regular plates to putting used
clothes up for sale as second hand items etc.
(iii) Recycle – Many of the items that the residents and staff of the development
uses will be recyclable. Items such as glass can be crushed and reused in
concrete. By the same token buying drinks in glass bottles which can be
exchanged at the store instead of plastic can help to reduce waste volumes
(although they may incur higher transportation cost). Composting kitchen
waste is another example where useful products can be obtained for
gardening, soil conditioning etc from waste which would otherwise be
discarded. In Belize there are established business operations that will take
paper cardboard and metal waste for recycling into useful products e.g. toilet
paper. Used tires can be recycled and used for road barriers or as flower pots.
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