With a population of over 7 million Bogotá has presented a lack of policies that ensure the correct management of solid waste and with a minimal rate of recycling, the majority of those end up in the landfill “Doña Juana”.  

Doña Juana has been operating since 1988, during the years it presented a big amount of environmental and social problematics, and it has been difficult for the communities that have been living close to the landfill to see the unrestricted growth of the landfill. As a result, many families have to live surrounded by flies and other problematics. 

Taking into account that the city produces more than 6.300 tons of waste per day, and only the 16% of these get recycled, the municipality of the city launched a project to build a waste-to-energy plant that it is projected that by 2027 will transform into an average of 2700 tons of waste every day, generating more than 128 megawatts of energy, that will be enough to power all public lighting in Bogotá.

In addition, the ashes resulting from the combustion will be sold as a construction material, using the circular economy to make the most of the one hundred percent of the treated material, as well, this project will implement an emission cleaning system that will reduce by 66% the amount of polluting gases that are produced in the burying of waste. 

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