Riviera Maya, Q.R. — The Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources says “we need to stop seeing sargassum as waste and start treating it as an opportunity.”
The comment was made during a weekend work tour of Quintana Roo.
During the tour, Secretary Alicia Bárcena visited CarbonWave, a company dedicated to the utilization of sargassum. She also toured Playa Ventana al Mar Puerto Morelos Mayor Blanca Merari Tziu Muñoz to oversee the collection of sargassum.
Bárcena Ibarra visited the facilities of CarbonWave in Puerto Morelos Saturday as part of a work tour to promote the Circular Economy Development Hub.
Bárcena Ibarra noted that CarbonWave is a company focused on the utilization and valorization of sargassum through the development of biomaterials, bioplastics, and fertilizers.
It is part of a strategy aimed at transforming environmental liabilities into opportunities for innovation, circular economy, and sustainable development for the Mexican Caribbean.
During the tour, she highlighted the importance of promoting comprehensive solutions that not only address the massive arrival of sargassum on the coasts of Quintana Roo, but also generate value chains, technological innovation and productive alternatives with environmental, social and economic benefits for the communities of the region.
“We need to stop seeing sargassum only as waste and start treating it as an opportunity for innovation and the circular economy. The solution lies not only in removing it from the beaches, but also in monitoring it, containing it, utilizing it, and generating value chains that benefit Quintana Roo,” she said.
She reported that the government, through the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, is promoting the Circular Economy Development Hub for the Well-being of Puerto Morelos.
She says it is focused on the use and valorization of sargassum with the aim of consolidating a sustainable development model that contributes to environmental restoration, waste reduction and job creation in the region.
Secretary Bárcena also toured Playa Ventana al Mar in Puerto Morelos with Mayor Blanca Merari Tziu Muñoz where she oversaw the monitoring, containment, cleaning, and sargassum collection efforts.
These efforts are underway to mitigate the effects of the seaweed’s arrival on the state’s coasts and protect coastal ecosystems and tourism.
