Cozumel, Q.R. — A Cozumel company that hauls waste from cruise ships has been fined for operating illegally. Germán Yáñez Mendoza, the Director of Ecology, says Ecología Industrial y Marina del Caribe, SA de CV (Ecomar) has been fined for bringing garbage, including recyclable garbage, from cruise ships to the island and using clandestine collection centers.
Yáñez Mendoza said he does not know if some of that garbage was stored in the Recyclable Materials Collection Center (CAMAR) of Cozumel.
The company Ecomar was fined earlier this week for the irregular handling of waste from cruise ships. The fine was issued May 22 to the company’s representative, Eduardo Puente García.
According to Yáñez Mendoza, Ecomar was reported for their violations on May 16. After investigating, which included a follow-up on their route from the ship loading dock to the sanitary landfill to a vacant lot in Félix Arturo González Canto, they summoned the company to appear before the Department.
They were given a week to produce the necessary permits required to provided the waste removal service. However, when they failed, they were fined and prohibited from using the Cozumel dump for cruise ship garbage.
He said that his department can only issue a fine for operating without permits and that any further violations need to be dealt with by the state and federal government.