A five-year period with a sustained increase in sales to satisfy demands in the national and international markets is a reason for rejoicing and celebration for the group of the Raw Materials Recovery Company (ERMP) of the province of Ciego de Ávila, immersed in multiple tasks in I salute May 1st.
Kendry Mastrapa Diéguez, deputy director of that entity, highlighted the effort of the workers to overcome the consequences of an economic crisis that worsened during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic and with the tightening of the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed on Cuba by the government of the United States.
He argued that the decrease in metal funds, imports and production of goods have restricted retail merchandise circulation in the country, unfavorable conditions for the development of the ERMP, however, the effectiveness of recycling policies and the search for alternatives allow progress, although not at the desired rate.
They bet —he said— on the increase in the levels of recovery in the state sector and the productive chains with the new forms of management of the economy, where it is necessary to promote the culture of recycling to reduce environmental contamination and reincorporate raw materials with use value to the industries, so that production costs decrease.
The ERMP —he pointed out— has structures (base business units and buying houses) in the 10 municipalities of Ciego de Avila, and has electric vehicles purchased in recent years, conditions that expand collection capacities by reducing dependence on fossil fuels for these activities and facilitate access to all neighborhoods and communities.
Mastrapa Diéguez added that the recovery persists in the Jardines del Rey tourist destination, where company workers remain, in charge of managing the recycling activity, including classification, in the hotels that generate the largest volumes of raw materials.
In other hotel and non-hotel facilities, and tourism support entities, the collection is assumed by an ERMP brigade; and collections are made at the landfill of that demarcation, an action that offers greater opportunities to collect and contributes to the care and conservation of the environment.
He explained that in the northern keys of Ciego de Ávila they obtain glass containers (rum, wine and beer knobs and bottles), plastic waste (mineral water, soft drink and alcoholic beverage containers), paper and cardboard, textile waste, electronic scrap and other materials that are discarded during repair processes.
He specified that the recovery of plastics, for example, makes it possible to satisfy the demands of state entities and new economic actors, who take advantage of this resource to manufacture pipes and other components of hydraulic and sanitary networks, as well as products for domestic use and agricultural implements.
Likewise, the demands of the Juan Antonio Márquez Fraga Plastic Brushes and Articles Company, from Ciego de Ávila, are satisfied, where recycled plastics contribute to supply the deficit of imported raw materials and are very useful to maintain productions that meet the demands of the national market.
Plastic items that were not recycled or marketed before now acquire value from their use to manufacture products such as pieces (slats and railings) for beach walkways, constructions that are exhibited in hotels in the tourist destinations of Varadero and Cayos de Santa. María —in the provinces of Matanzas and Villa Clara, respectively— and are characterized by being attractive, strong and long-lasting.
Daimara Jorrín Ramos, director of Development and Investments of the Avila ERMP, highlighted that in greeting to International Workers' Day, the group of the entity, executes multiple actions in constituency 118 of the Alfredo Gutiérrez Lugones popular council.
In the extensive program of activities to date, repairs in two family doctor's offices, construction of parks for healthy recreation and cleaning and beautification days stand out, in addition to assisting people and families in vulnerable conditions to improve their quality of life.
The opening of a new raw materials purchase house is also planned in the municipality of Ciro Redondo, they reanimate and intensify political propaganda and guarantee the manufacture of promotional items and clothing — pullovers and caps with colors allegorical to the Cuban flag — that they will be on display during the parade.
It is added to this are political activities, sanitization and beautification days at the ERMP and all its structures in the province, and the permanent commitment to exceed the productive indicators to support the National Economic and Social Development Program.