Cleaner water in the Samalá River

The Samalá River is located in southwestern Guatemala. Its source is in the peaks of the Sierra Madre, in the departments of Totonicapán and Quetzaltenango. It runs almost 150 kilometers on its way to the Pacific Ocean, passing through hundreds of communities that use its water for farming and power generation. At the same, time however, the river also carries garbage and pollution from the wastewater of various communities. Enel Green Power’s El Canada hydroelectric plant is located in the river’s middle basin, in the municipality of Zunil. Ever since it entered into operation, alternatives have been sought to mitigate this environmental problem with a garbage extraction project. Waste is collected using a rake system and is then sorted and taken to a collection center where, on average, seven tons of plastic materials are processed. The separation of this material created an opportunity to identify potential allies who could use the recycled raw materials to create new products, putting into practice a circular economy model. This provided the basis for a new idea in November 2021: to use panels made from plastic waste to build a community tourism office for the village of Chilascó, in the municipality of Salamá. This is in Baja Verapaz, and is home to Central America’s highest waterfall, el salto de Chilascó. 8,818 pounds of plastic will be used in building the office: 40% of this material will come from the El Canada plant's collection center. That’s the equivalent of 15,000 medium-sized polypropylene bottles. This project has helped promote a shift in production, construction and consumption models. This is in addition to promoting a more attractive, sustainable construction strategy, with more efficient timeframes and a more favorable environmental impact: 22 million liters of water will be saved for every ton of plastic. Furthermore, as construction begins, eight temporary jobs will be created locally and employment opportunities will be generated for 90 families from the village of Chilascó. They will provide community tourism services, food, transportation and the sale of local handicrafts. This project highlights the key role of circularity in promoting the social, economic and environmental development of local areas.

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Cleaner water in the Samalá River