Large New River Boom Installed in Costa Rica

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Costa Rica have joined CRDC Global and CRDC PEDREGAL in a multilateral public-private partnership to install a 60-meter-long floating solid waste collection boom on the Virilla River.

This groundbreaking project is part of the UNDP's Landscapes without Plastics initiative and is expected to capture around 80% of the plastics from the Central Valley that are carried by the current towards the Pacific coast.

The new river boom has a life span of 25 years and consists of assembly floating units with high resistance to impact, a submerged galvanized iron mesh, and a mooring and anchoring system. The captured plastic waste will be processed into RESIN8™ at CRDC PEDREGAL, transforming it into a raw material for the construction industry – providing an example of circular economy in action that will have a great positive impact on both the environment and public health.

This innovative collaboration will, as a next step, install this type of waste collection systems in other rivers across the country, and focus on collection and education efforts to provide a long-term solution to plastic contamination and waste in Costa Rica. CRDC Global are committed to working together with other organizations to achieve their common goal of protecting the environment.