Riviera Maya, Q.R. — State officials are in the process of searching for land to use for additional sargassum recycling centres. The state of Quintana Roo began looking for additional land after the announcement of a Comprehensive Sargassum Sanitation and Circular Economy Centre in Cancun earlier this month.
Following the recent meeting with Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, head of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), Governor Mara Lezama reported that work is underway to evaluate strategic locations for additional centres.
The installation of Circular Economy Centers, she said, will utilize sargassum as a raw material. Lezama explained that the main challenge is identifying suitable locations for these centres, taking into account factors such as connectivity, proximity to the coast and the condition of the collected sargassum.
She explained that proximity matters since most processes require the macroalgae to be alive, that is, not decomposing, in order to be transformed into useful products. According to Bárcena Ibarra, the sargassum needs to be alive at least four hours after harvesting to be used.
“Last week we had a meeting with the state government team. We’re working on it because we have to consider where to install this hub, its connectivity, its proximity. What makes it more expensive, for example, is the transportation, the transport of raw materials which in this case would be sargassum,” Lezama said.
During the meeting, they also spoke with producers who already develop sargassum-made products such as pencils, notebooks and sandals and identified an additional 30 to 40 potential products that could also be made from the state’s unwanted seaweed.
Lezama emphasized that the greatest challenge remains collecting sargassum from the sea before it decomposes on the beaches. She highlighted the importance of the State’s Sargassum Centre, which allows local authorities to detect, in real time, the flow of sargassum heading for the coast. She said that information is also vital to ensure the efficient management of vessels for their at-sea sargassum collection.
Lezama hightlighted that the work being done is carried out with a firm commitment to protecting the environment while promoting innovation and a sustainable economy in the region.
Last week, Governor Lezama, along with Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, announced the state’s first Comprehensive Sargassum Sanitation and Circular Economy Centre in Cancun, which will be constructed in the Cancun Hotel Zone. The Centre will process wastewater and turn sargassum into biofuel.
