ACTING Gov. Diego T. Benavente yesterday said the Solid Waste Management Task Force had finally decided to ship out half of the total garment waste being dumped at Puerto Rico.
The government earlier considered shipping out garment waste but decided against it, citing the costs involved.
This time, according to Benavente, “we are (again) working on it.”
He said the request for proposal for the project was being drafted.
Fifteen tons of the estimated 30 tons of garment scrap materials will be processed for recycling once it is moved out of the commonwealth, Benavente said.
The RFP will be finalized in 30 days, and the agreement signing will follow 15 days later.
Maeda Erricco, the only qualified bidder when the task force announced the waste recycling effort two months ago, estimated that shipping garment waste would cost $400 per ton.
This is still “very expensive” for the government, which is why the project will only involve 50 percent of the total garment waste, Benavente said.
It will cost the commonwealth government some $10 million to shut down the Puerto Rico dumpsite.
Benavente said the dump could be converted into a park, or the Commonwealth Ports Authority could use the space for foreign vessels.
