Monteverde ranks among the most popular destinations in the country, attracting over 200,000 tourists annually due to its robust conservation efforts. In response to the large number of people who visit, Monteverde is starting a project aimed at gathering and processing organic waste, particularly leftover food from restaurants, with the aim of utilizing it to enhance the local ecosystem.
The project involves the Association for the Administration of Community Water and Sewage Systems (ASADA) of Santa Elena, Monteverde, which collects more than six tons of waste per week from 100 businesses and transports it to a processing plant to produce organic fertilizer.
In this region, 450 tons of organic waste are produced annually, of which 333 tons are composted and returned to the environment.
According to the Directorate of Radiological Protection and Environmental Health of the Ministry of Health, composting organic waste in the country increased as a method for recycling organic waste, going from 4,700 tons of waste in 2018 to 42,580 in 2020.
The compost is sold in sacks to businesses and individuals for the maintenance of their gardens and green spaces, and as a complement, native trees from the area are given as gifts for the conservation of the forest.
This also ensures the project is self-sufficient and provides income to families. At the same time it addresses an initial problem that was the contamination of Monteverde’s watersheds, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions and the carbon footprint, maintaining a cleaner Monteverde.
The ASADA in the area incorporates the businesses that participate in the waste collection program into the water bill, thus simplifying the project’s contribution procedures.
There is currently a large waiting list of businesses looking to join this project that positively impacts social and environmental wellbeing, and which is gradually growing to meet the needs of the entire community.
ASADA and the Monteverde Municipal Council are leading a macro-project called the Monteverde Environmental Technology Park (PTAM), which will include a Wastewater Treatment Plant, a Solid Waste Transfer Center, and a Productive Treatment Plant to transform various organic wastes into value-added products.
“Composting on a large scale generates benefits for an entire community. However, people can also implement it at home to responsibly dispose of their organic waste and in this way we all contribute to the environment,” said Aura Sandí, administrator of ASADA Santa Elena, Monteverde.
