Office of the Vice President Sponsors Discussion for Children and Adults on How to Reduce Contamination by Plastic Products

Santo Domingo, August 6, 2018 – With the goal of teaching children and adults the negative impact plastics have on the environment – and how all can contribute to protect and preserve it – the Office of the Vice President hosted an interactive discussion titled “A Country Without Plastics,” headed by environmentalist Paola Tineo.

The activity, an initiative of Vice President Dr. Margarita Cedeño, through the initiative on values known as “Good for You,” was held at the Children and Youth Library of the Dominican Republic (BIJRD).

During her participation, Tineo showed participants biodegradable materials that may be used instead of plastics, and which contribute to a healthy lifestyle and do not impact the environment in a negative way. In her presentation,  she presented a toothbrush made with bamboo, glass or metal bottles, as well as deodorants and lotions that come in glass containers.

The expert also explained that plastics are made from petroleum and additional chemicals which take up to 400 years to decompose, a situation that seriously contributes to pollute the planet.

“This small bottle that you see here does not stay like this.  With time, when it is impacted by the sun, rain and heat, it breaks down into small plastic pieces which remain in our environment for hundreds of years,” explained Tineo.

She also explained that in order to reduce pollution and encourage a healthy life style, six important principles must be applied: reject, replace, reduce, reuse, repair and recycle products.

 There are currently 13 million tons of plastic-based waste in our oceans.  Because of this situation several countries have introduced measures to reduce the use of plastics.  This is their way of protecting the 16 million square kilometers of oceans and seas in our planet.

Paola Tineo

 Ms. Tineo is a self-taught environmentalist who has been working on this issue for the past 20 years. Since 2006 she has taught Sustainability and Quality of Life in Santo Domingo’s UNIBE University.  She writes a column in the local magazine La Casa titled “Ilovegreen, ”on sustainable construction.  She has also published articles in the magazine Nuestros Hijos (Our Children) on how to live an eco-friendly lifestyle.

She is also the creator of the Paolatineo.com blog, where she writes on healthy lifestyles, and is a consultant on sustainability and climate change issues.