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The Future of Infrastructure is Sustainability
By Graham Watkins, Environmental and Safeguards Lead Specialist English | Español A large proportion of my time at the IDB is spent working with project teams on infrastructure projects to enhance sustainability through minimizing potential impacts and risks for people and the environment. As human populations have continued to grow and become increasingly urban, the demand … [Read more...] about The Future of Infrastructure is Sustainability
Recycling: The Price is Right – part 2
Español | English In a previous post, I gave an overview of one of Ecuador’s new “green” taxes: a USD$ 0.02 charge on non-returnable plastic bottles (made of PET, a material that can take up to 700 years to decompose). What impact do these tax instruments have on informal recyclers? Meant not only to stimulate the local recycling market and to address the negative … [Read more...] about Recycling: The Price is Right – part 2
Recycling: The Price is Right
Español | English It is clear that the rate of recycling in our cities could be higher, but it is harder to find the best mechanism to achieve it. Many policies have looked to economic solutions to incentivize a change in habits. For example, the Limpinho 3R program allows diligent users to accrue tradable points and exchange them for goods and services. Limpinho’s … [Read more...] about Recycling: The Price is Right
Is it time to take the train out of town?
Español | English Once the main transportation network, many cities in the US were formed around railroad tracks. Nowadays, what was once a sign of economic prosperity has become out of place in a growing city. Many railways now serve as passageways for occasional freight movement or have been abandoned completely. The result? A cut right through the city with negative … [Read more...] about Is it time to take the train out of town?