Compassing Sustainability in Puerto Rico: Smart Partnerships for a Sociocultural Transformation ...

7/27/2019 Compassing Sustainability in Puerto Rico: Smart Partnerships for a Sociocultural Transformation Agencies, Policies

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I nternships and Academic Seminars

Compassing Sustainabil i ty in Puerto RicoSmart Partnerships for a socio-cultural transformation

Agencies, Policies and Citizenship

ByLyanne Claudio, Eliud De Jess, Kaira Fuentes, Christopher E. Santiago and Amilkar Cruz

Crdova-Ferns Congressional Internship ProgramsPuerto Rico Development Project

Fall Semester 2012


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Compassing Sustainabi l ity in Puerto RicoSmart Partnerships for a socio-cultural transformation

Agencies, Policies and Citizenship

ByLyanne Claudio, Eliud De Jess, Kaira Fuentes,Christopher E. Santiago and Amilkar Cruz

Theoretical Frame

Puerto Rico needs to embrace a paradigmatic shift to drive new form and root out that

obsoletes ways that had define our design of social sustenance. This initiative looks to

influence strongly the policy-making process of Puerto Rico for an adoption of a long

term comprehensive plan to revitalize, restart and reform the design of our living and

shared spaces. It has become vital to our progress as a country the education of

professionals in Sustainable Developments to meet the challenges that this century

brings. Through the implementation of a comprehensive Sustainable Development Plan

to Puerto Rico, is the search to place as a main purpose the citizenship and enlarge the

range of choices that the people have to fulfill in their daily life reducing the inequality

gap that has produce social impoverishment and less opportunity for people to

progress.

Partnership initiatives provide

shared solutions to face the

ecologic, economic and social

problematic of our country. Its


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urgent to provoke an organically shift in our wrong-head economical development

based in the economical Gross National Product (GNP) growth focus in the financial

prosperity. We need to canalize a coordinated partnership between agencies,

communities, communitarian and political leaders and extend the bound to the private

sector by unifying in partnership and contributing in the raise of a renewed pacification

policy for Puerto Rico.

Human Development as core principle

Human development as an approach, deals with what I consider the

basic development idea: namely, increasing the richness of human liferather than the wealth of the economy in which human beings live, whichis only a part of life itself.

-Amartya Sen, Nobel Prize for economics in 1998.

Human development is a process of enlarging people's choices. Many fast-growing

developing countries are discovering that their high GNP growth rates have failed to

reduce the socioeconomic deprivation of substantial sections of their population

(UNDP, 1990). To replace the misguided approach we propose give more emphasis to

the Human Development Index (HDI). Explained in the same words of the indexs

creator, the Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq, the HDI had the purpose "to shift the

focus of development economics from national income accounting to people centered policies".

The HDI considers three aspects: life expectancy at birth, Education index, that mean

years of schooling and Expected years of schooling, and the Gross National Income

(GNI per Capita) = (Producto interno bruto) that means a decent standard of living.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahbub_ul_Haqhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_indexhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_indexhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahbub_ul_Haq


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Human development considers the six main factors integral: Equity: Equal opportunities for all. Special emphasis is placed on equity of

human development between men and women and various social group

Empowerment: Freedom of the people to influence, as the subjects ofdevelopment, decisions that affect their lives.

Cooperation: Participation and belonging to communities and groups as ameans of mutual enrichment and a source of social meaning.

Sustainability: Meeting the needs of today without compromising the abilityof satisfying the same by future generations.

Security: Exercise development opportunities freely and safely withconfidence that they will not disappear suddenly in the future.

Productivity: Full participation of people in the process of income generationand gainful employment.

Education for Sustainable Development

People are the real wealth of a nation. To achieve a sustainable economy its necessary

to arrange a new curriculum to our educational system that pursuits the formation of

citizens with capacities to make an interdisciplinary approach, collaborative decision

making, critical thinking and the courage of systems thinking. Our students had to

educate in a way that they consider itself responsible of their own reality and their own

setting. Also, its pertinent to endow the educational curriculum with a program of

agricultural studies and environmental sciences.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_thinkinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_thinking


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Schools have a vital role in this initiative serving as agent reproductive of sustainable

lifestyle to students and members of communities, serving as the main space to connect

the communities and initiatives. Is also necessary take each district particularly with

their assets and populations develop them capacities for new forms of managing their

social coexistence.

Design of Sustainable Development

The intention of sustainable design is to "eliminate negative environmental impact

completely through skillful, sensitive design". Manifestations of sustainable design

require no non-renewable resources, impact the environment minimally, and connect

people with the natural environment. Its a design that considers the environment and

its positives effects and integrates infrastructure in the equilibrium, taking advantage of

the environments condition without exploiting or destroying the natural resources. For

example, using the sunlight, the air or/and integrating green spaces into buildings.

Unlike other countries, Puerto Rico does not actually have a law or decree to raise the

performance of planning or urban planning practices to a constitutional level. The main

laws are those who create government agencies charged with regulatory functions and

management of land uses. Among the laws of more control over urban processes is the

Organic Law Planning Board 1975 (Ley Orgnica de la Junta de Planificacin de 1975),

which creates the Planning Board of Puerto Rico, the main government agency in

matters of land use and urban planning#. This law creates the main agency that works

with urban planning across the country. This agency is unfortunately at the mercy of


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the constant changing block parties because of their lack of autonomy in the

government system. The creation of planning agencies in autonomous municipalities

has caused short-term proposals that benefit the politician in office and are visible over

a four year period. These projects are not consistent with the other municipalities that

are within the urban sprawl.

Are we in equilibrium in an island of cement?

Example of Sustainable Arrangement in balance with green spaces: Singapore


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Empowerment of Communities

Puerto Rico has to create informed citizens and offer mechanisms where the

citizenship is able to play an active role in the decisions that affect their communities.

The empowerment of the communities is based on recognizing the necessities of a

community and being inclusive in the participation of decision taking to push the

necessary changes so that these changes prevail and reach their potential. The

government had to seek new methods to adjust deliberation processes and a more

inclusive way of decision making regarding communities and seek a bound between

citizenship and partnership. Its important to achieve an education in communities to

strengthen community participation and unlock enterprising community development.

Partnership can fulfill shared initiatives with the community and develop many ways

to take charge of inclusive sustainable development.

Social, Institutional and Economic Challenges:

-The absence of serious discussion for long term comprehensive plan.

-Many laws but a poor implementation.

- Lack of synchronicity between agencies.

-Change of bad accustomed habits and mentality

-Change the politics of quantity by the quality.

-Unsustainable consumption and production patterns.

-Mentality change by the education to learn to take consciences andresponsibility about their actions and develop new ways to manage theirrealities. Ex. Recycling, gas emission, energy consumption, resourcesconsumptions, consumerism.


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Public Policy suggestion

o Centralize and define as independent agency the Puerto Rico PlanificationAgency.

o Created a rigorous method of design to lead sustainable development,and start and internal examinations of their protocols regarding

construction, design and urban arrangement.

o Establish rigorous regulations in all the government to measure energyconsumption, to implement a recycling program in each agencies and

they buildings

o Stimulate our local agricultural sector with equipment, training andcapacitating.

o The embrace of a coherent synchronization between the higher educationsector and our public education system to develop the capacities and

training for a sustainable economy.

o The Creation of Governmental Independent Institute for the Developmentof Sustainable Communities.

o Empowering communities and be inclusive in decision making process.o Establishment of recycling factories. By the contrary export to other

country to process recycling

o Decrease the plastic production and consumption in the island.o Make mandatory the recycling in Puerto Rico.o Charge by the weight of the waste generated

Analysis about recycling laws

According to the Act No. 411 of 2000 which amends the Act No. 70 of September 18,

1992, as amended, known as the "Law for the Reduction and Recycling in Puerto Rico

this proposed important steps to follow for the conservation of our environment. The

amendments were:


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Extend through 2006 the goal of reducing and recycling the thirty-five percent(35%) of solid waste to be generated.

Make compulsory that the municipalities recruit a Recycling Coordinator fulltime and assign budget to the Office of Recycling.

Promote the purchase of paper with recycled fiber in government agencies. Promote the implementation of recycling programs in the private sector and

sending quarterly progress (achievements and limitations) to the The Solid Waste

Authority (ADS)-Autoridad de Desperdicios Solidos, as a strategy to achieve the

goal of recovering the thirty-five percent (35%) of solid waste.


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Through the Act No. 81 of 30 August 1991 called Autonomous Municipalities of the

Commonweal of Puerto Rico in the Section 2.005 Programs and Systems Waste Collection

and Disposal, the municipality may regulate solid waste management in line with the

environmental policy of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, provide by ordinance the way it held

solid waste management and impose penalties for violations of the rules adopt. It may also

establish, maintain and operate on its own, or through a contract with any person, natural or legal

bona fide services and waste management programs and general public sanitation.

The viability of these amendments was excellent and it was a great plan to follow

but with the exception that has not been as it was planned. According to final report of

the recycling and diversion rate done by The Solid Waste Authority (ADS)-Autoridad de

Desperdicios Solidos#, the standard recycling rate for 2007 was 10%. Meanwhile, the

traditional recycling rate and diversion rate was 15% and 19%.

This is the latest report that you can find in the web page done by ADS. We can

see how the action of recycling is growing but very slowly for the goal that was


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proposed in the law. Here we have an example of a law that is not following its

instruction and purpose. The Government has the responsibility to make sure that all

laws are being implemented. In this case we need more regulation by the government

inside the agencies and to look for strategies that can enforce the law.

An integral part of sustainable development is the management of solid waste. In

Puerto Rico the solid waste management is a very serious matter and it has to be

attended with an integrated vision were the human health and the environment are the

priority. The landfills in Puerto Rico are getting to the end of their useful life and were

still producing large quantities of solid waste. The solutions for this problem already

exist and are available for its implementation. The public policy and the resources to

resolve the solid waste problem are there, and we as a nation have the capacity to

aspirate to the Zero Waste concept. Zero waste embodies the goal of a closed-loop

system that reuses resources rather than creating waste. According to Zero Waste

Alliance, argues that the entire concept of waste should be eliminated. Instead, waste

should be thought of as a residual product or simply a potential resource to counter

our basic acceptance of waste as a normal course of events. The basic step to start

dealing with the solid waste management in Puerto Rico is recycling.


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Starting a Community Recycling Program Blog

If we start to change our ways largely toward solid waste, we begin with results.

Puerto Rico is currently producing 3.6 million tons of waste annually. The

problem of solid waste disposal is a serious situation and should be resolved urgently.

Of the 28 existing landfills only 8 exceed the average useful life of 20 years. Less than

15% of the solids residues are recycled, of the total solid residues composition more

than 30% is compostable. Composting organic matter and recycling would significantly

reduce the solid waste that occupies lot of space in landfills. The government doesnt

consider composting as a real option and recycling hasnt reached its full potential but

as responsible citizens we must contribute creating alternatives and solutions to this

problem. By creating a virtual guide with different kinds of resources for Puerto Ricos

communities and individuals well provide a central and accessible source to promote

and provide the guidelines for recycling and composting in housing and school

communities.


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Project background

Education is the most powerful tool that any person, community, society or

country can have. More and more professionals are articulating emphasis on new

educational strategies and issues highly relevant to students. Environmental education

is part of it; it comprises a very important concept when developing a new educational

curriculum that effectively impacts children and youth of Puerto Rico, who in turn seek

new challenges in their learning. These are experiences that should facilitate their

thinking and action, will lead not only to global problems or concerns about the

environment but also to local situations and possibilities. Studying the needs of

communities of Puerto Rico, we can generalize that the disposal of solid waste is part of

it, and then this can become a generator theme for the development of this project.

Taking into consideration, the school as catalitic point between communities, this

has to develop initiatives that eventually every student can implement at home inspire

sustainable lifestyles. In turn, promote the reception of sustainable development, as

well as resource management as essential concepts in the curriculum design. This

would develop a curriculum that would integrate various subjects and multiple skills

that are necessary for the composting practice. This opportunity provides students

integrate and applying a multidimensional knowledge while doing things with their

hands and body in a setting where children and adults share in common. Translating

this experience to each home bring the habit of collaboration, teamwork and respect to


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the environment. We look to promote a healthy dynamic and manners at home and the

same time than on the community. This is what our blog based.

At this moment, were fully aware that technology is an integral part of peoples

daily life. By creating an interactive blog, individuals, students, teacher and parents can

easily access the information necessary to create and promote their recycling projects at

school and their communities. Provide a webpage with all the information necessary for

recycling and composting is our first step for broad recycling a project that can start

reducing the solid waste in each community in Puerto Rico.

3. Project description

Our blog main objective is to become a influential resource in recycling and

sustainable lifestyle for communities in Puerto Rico. It should be the first step and a


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source of inspiration for future programs shaped in communities and schools. We

aspire to become an auxiliary source for these communities that seek federal grants to

finance their projects toward transform them communities as sustainable.

The blog will encompass information about recycling and composting with

different methods and source. We would integrate all the necessary skills, materials and

spaces to compost. We want to create a dynamic menu of agricultural practices in

addition to articles and manuals about recycling. Well add forum to discuss different

methods a discus the progress of our efforts in all the island and created a comparative

for discuss good ideas in other countries. In our Up cycle tab, we will also provide the

process of trash become something bioactive material useful to gardening in homes and

school.. The information will be presented in different types of formats, like PDF

documents, links to other websites, photos and videos.

4. Action Community plan

Reaching for sustainability is an everyday responsibility; we cannot depend only

in the government actions to initiate a sustainable way of life. Some municipalities of

Puerto Rico like Caguas, Guaynabo and San Juan, have recycling programs. Several of

those programs include recycling routes which are responsible for collecting the

household recyclables in certain communities; but not all the communities are

beneficiaries of these programs, and not every municipality has recycling programs.

Domiciles are the basic unit to start the recycling movement in Puerto Rico, and the

communities are the collective force for facilitates that change. Organized communities


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have the opportunity to work in harmony to reach a better quality of life for its

members. The creation of recycling initiatives is a way to pursuit that goal, and is also a

way to improve the unity and communication between the communities.

The first step for creating a community recycling initiative, is acknowledging the

necessity for doing such effort. In order to proposes the project its necessary for the

community leaders to assemble the residents and instruct them about the solid waste

problem in the island and show them recycle as method to reduce and reuse waste. One

effective activity to demonstrate the large quantity that is produced in the resident

homes is to reunite the families and look at their garbage. Taking the garbage and

separating it into recycling and compostable material is a tangible way to see that

almost all the solid waste dont have to be putted in landfills. Once the community

accepts the necessity of recycling, and decides to get involved with the recycling

initiative, it is time to begin to create an action plan. They have to find organize the plan

encouraging the community in active participation.

The action plan has to start with an extensive research about the resources and

technical potential that the community has for implementing the plan. For those living

in autonomous municipalities they have to contact the municipal coordinator (see the

Appendix) responsible for the solid waste management and talk about the community

interest in establishing a recycling recollection system. For those municipalities that

dont have recycling facilities have to integrate and train groups to work on


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environmentally sound management procedures like collection, sorting and

composting, also assessment the disposal of inorganic and organic waste (E. Alonzo

2011). The community can make their own recycling co-op in charge of recollecting the

material and establish business with buyers of recyclable waste. For those communities

that decide to establish recycling projects and dont have the municipality support, they

could make a proposal to obtain funds from the state or federal government. There are

agencies like the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration that have personal that can

educate the community to design proposal and search federal grants and other funds.

The organizing groups for the recollecting of recyclable materials bring instantly

benefits by their joint labor, producing revenues to buying their material and to the

betterment the capacity of storage for classification and trade, likewise the capacity to

create a network between buyers. The training, management and diffusion inside the

community erect a culture of caring for environment and the adequate management of

solid waste. The groups through the organization as cooperatives for solid waste can

sponsor mechanisms to support the solution of the solid waste problem without it

falling exclusively on municipal resources. This way they can also sign job agreements

and/or concessions of the services that their lending to the municipality.

Being the main interest to educate the people and give them the tools to

encourage them to recycling, they can propose to become partners with the Puerto Rico

Recycling Partnership. In addition, it would be a great idea if the government of Puerto


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Rico by the Solid Waste Authority (ADS), gave us space in their social networks to

spread our message. Another great idea would be to do a massive advertising

campaign aimed at the private sector using donations of the people who believe in our

message.

5. Budget

Opening and starting a blog was free of charge. Maintaining it doesnt need to

cost anything else as long as theres a volunteer to run it. If we decided to later on

upgrade our website so we can have our own domain and features, it would only cost

$100 a year. If this money is necessary in the future, it could be collected by making new

items out of recyclable materials - for example making wallets out of magazine paper.

Also we have indentified different foundations for finance recycling initiatives.

The Coca-Cola Foundation

Coca Cola Plaza, Atlanta, GA 30313T (404) 676-2568 F (404) 676-8804www.thecoca-colacompany.com/citizenship/foundation_coke.htmlFunds for programs on water conservation, health, communitarian recycling andeducation

Walmart Foundation

Walmart Puerto Rico

PMB #725 PO Box 4960

Caguas PR 00726-4960http://www.walmartpr.com/Pages/ConoceWalmart/goodWork.aspx

6. Expected results and conclusion
http://www.walmartpr.com/Pages/ConoceWalmart/goodWork.aspxhttp://www.walmartpr.com/Pages/ConoceWalmart/goodWork.aspxhttp://www.walmartpr.com/Pages/ConoceWalmart/goodWork.aspx


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This blog is only the start of something much greater. We hope that with

planting this small seed, peoples motivation to recycle, compost and reduce their solid

waste will grow. Communities that are made of individuals with this desire can

eventually become into sustainable communities that are making a better place out of

their homes to reduce the amount of waste produce in our island. Small steps like these

are what can lead to other projects that produce sustainable communities in Puerto Rico

that improve their social, economic and ecological problems. Later on we could see the

overall reduction of solid waste in the island which is a problem thats affecting the

island presently.

Puerto Rico has the resources and human capital to achieve all the goals we have

established for sustainability. Through this initiative we want to exhort our

governments leaders and communities to take action and develop better solutions for

the social, economic and environmental problems that the island faces today. With

some motivation and hard work we can all lead our island towards solutions that

develop sustainable communities.


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References:

Alonzo E. (2012) Modelo de planeacin y participacin comunitaria para el manejoecolgico de residuos slidos en localidades costeras de Yucatn y otras reas

vulnerables.Grupo YAAX BEH A.C.

Autoridad De Desperdicios Solidos. (n.d.). Centros de deposito comunitarios drop off .Retrieved fromhttp://www.ads.gobierno.pr/reciclaje/drop-off.htm Autoridad De Desperdicios Solidos. (2007). Tasa de reciclaje y tasa de desvo. Retrieved

from:http://www.ads.gobierno.pr/reciclaje/informe_tasas_de_reciclaje_y_desvio_2007.pdf

Autoridad De Desperdicios Solidos. (2000). ley nm. 411 del ao 2000 . Retrieved fromhttp://www.ads.gobierno.pr/reciclaje/ley411/ley4112000.htm

Conant J., Fadem P. (2011) Guia Comunitaria Para la Salud Ambiental. Hesperian.Berkeley, California, EE.UU.

Gingger Enid Correa-Angulo. (2012, Abril 30). Se cierra el cerco para el manejo dedesperdicios slidos.Dialogo Digital. Retrieved from:http://dialogodigital.com/index.php/Se-cierra-el-cerco-para-el-manejo-de-desperdicios-

solidos.html

Hessel, S., & Morin, E. (2012). The path to hope. New York: Other Press. Javier Velez Arocho. (2012, Agosto 24). Los vertederos no son la solucin.El Vocero.

Retrieved from http://www.vocero.com/los-vertederos-no-son-la-solucion/

Sara Justicia Doll , M. (2010, Marzo 08). Contra el reloj los vertederos de la isla.PrimeraHora. Retrieved from http://www.primerahora.com/contraelrelojlosvertederosdelaisla-372492.html

United Nation. (n.d.).Defining and measuring human development. Retrieved fromhttp://hdr.undp.org/en/media/hdr_1990_en_chap1.pdf
http://www.ads.gobierno.pr/reciclaje/drop-off.htmhttp://www.ads.gobierno.pr/reciclaje/drop-off.htmhttp://www.ads.gobierno.pr/reciclaje/drop-off.htmhttp://www.ads.gobierno.pr/reciclaje/informe_tasas_de_reciclaje_y_desvio_2007.pdfhttp://www.ads.gobierno.pr/reciclaje/informe_tasas_de_reciclaje_y_desvio_2007.pdfhttp://dialogodigital.com/index.php/Se-cierra-el-cerco-para-el-manejo-de-desperdicios-solidos.htmlhttp://dialogodigital.com/index.php/Se-cierra-el-cerco-para-el-manejo-de-desperdicios-solidos.htmlhttp://dialogodigital.com/index.php/Se-cierra-el-cerco-para-el-manejo-de-desperdicios-solidos.htmlhttp://dialogodigital.com/index.php/Se-cierra-el-cerco-para-el-manejo-de-desperdicios-solidos.htmlhttp://dialogodigital.com/index.php/Se-cierra-el-cerco-para-el-manejo-de-desperdicios-solidos.htmlhttp://www.ads.gobierno.pr/reciclaje/informe_tasas_de_reciclaje_y_desvio_2007.pdfhttp://www.ads.gobierno.pr/reciclaje/drop-off.htm

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