Hotels prod gov’t to put in place recycling plan

The Hotel Association of Northern Mariana Islands has asked government officials to begin implementing a recycling program and an island-wide education campaign to save the island’s fragile environment from deteriorating.

In a letter addressed to Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio, Lt. Gov. Jesus R. Sablan, Senate President Paul Manglona and Speaker Benigno R. Fitial, the hotel executives said their businesses will participate in a recycling plan that the CNMI government will carry out.

The letter was signed by six hotel general managers and presidents who are key officials of HANMI.

The Northern Marianas is described as a tropical paradise by its visitors primarily due to its magnificent scenery, particularly the lagoon and beaches. However, such pristine beauty may soon rapidly diminish because of the way the Northern Marianas is handling its trash and caring for the lagoon, according to the hotel executives.

“We are well aware of the plan to close the Puerto Rico dump and move it to Marpi and we understand that to make it a proper sanitary landfill takes time. We have been patient for many years while the planning has taken place and we hope that the work is progressing rapidly and in earnest,” the hotel officials said.

While waiting for the new landfill to open, HANMI said the Northern Marianas can do a lot of things by setting up a recycling program. They noted the observation of their customers that the CNMI is at least 20 years behind Japan and the U.S. mainland in terms of environmental procedures.

In a move to preserve the quality of the island as a destination and maintain its attractiveness as a favorite tourist destination, HANMI has proposed the following:

• Put in place a collection system for recycling items. Hotels are willing to separate bottles and cans from other trash if the government will do that.

• Draw up incentives for private recycling companies to start operation and promote more recycling on the island.

• Begin a community education plan to inform the people about the importance of recycling and proper disposal of trash.

• Ban phosphate detergents at the earliest possible time in order to help stop the pollution and “greening” of the lagoon.

• Stop sewage and storm water runoff from going into the lagoon which occurs every year especially during rainy season.

The government can use the revenues collected from recycled items to pay for regular trash collectors’ fees or the new tipping fees which are scheduled to start next month.

“We love this island as you do and are thinking of the good of the local people as well as our businesses. It is absolutely necessary that we take care to uphold the tropical paradise by being more sophisticated about the way we care for our environment,” the hotel executives said.