Ecuador will seek to strengthen relations to combat plastics in the oceans

Ecuadornews:

Ecuador will take advantage of the IV General Assembly of the United Nations for the Environment, which will take place next week in Kenya, to strengthen relations with the international community on the management of plastic waste in the oceans, reported this March 10, 2019 the Ministry of Environment.

In a statement, the Ministry reported that its owner, Marcelo Mata, will participate in the meeting to be held between March 13 and 15, and that it will bring together more than 4,700 heads of state, ministers, business leaders, senior officials of the UN and representatives of civil society.

The Secretary of State “will seek to strengthen Ecuador’s relationship with the international community in the area of ​​plastic waste management in the oceans, electric mobility, investment and green business, environmental challenges, sustainable production and consumption,” he said.

In the document he pointed out that Ecuador is a reference in the implementation of mechanisms for sustainable consumption and production. According to the Ministry, during the meeting in Nirobi, representatives from various countries of the world will make decisions regarding innovative solutions for environmental challenges and sustainable production and consumption.

Among the activities of Mata is a presentation on March 14, in which he will highlight the actions implemented by his Government in order to strengthen the mechanisms for sustainable consumption and production, through the “Green Point” program. It will also present the initiative for the recovery of plastic waste in the rivers, driven by the Ecuadorian Inty Gronneberg and the Ichtion company, which aims to start the operation of a turbine for the collection of up to 80 tons of plastic waste in the Guayas river or Esmeraldas river.

Last January, Gronneberg, who invented a turbine to collect plastics from the water, said he plans to install the first such equipment in Ecuador this year, in order to prevent these products from reaching the Galápagos archipelago by sea. “In Ecuador there is a particular condition: the plastics that flow from the rivers to the Ecuadorian coasts are directed by the ocean currents to the Galapagos Islands, so it is important to avoid the flow of plastics,” Gronneberg said at the time.

In Nairobi, the Environment Minister will also hold meetings with Joyce Msuya, Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program; Leo Heileman, regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean; Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Program, and Park, Chun Kyoo, deputy minister of South Korea. (I)

Source: https://www.elcomercio.com/tendencias/ecuador-buscara-combatir-plastico-onu.html