For years our country has been demanding specific legislations to help regulate waste management. One of the most recent harmful social incidents coincided with the curfew resulted from the pandemic, where millions of people were affected with allergies and respiratory problems caused by the smoke effects of the burning of garbage in the well-known Duquesa landfill.
Although the Dominican Constitution lists the protection of the Environment as a Fundamental Right, in our country we did not have guidelines that expressly regulate the disposal and management of waste nor instruments that help mitigate environmental deterioration.
Law 225-20, promulgated on October 2, 2020, establishes the creation of the Department for Integral Waste Management, a dependency of the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources, and empowers the City Council and Municipal District Boards to execute and apply the Municipal Plan for Comprehensive Waste Management (which must be prepared by the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources and approved by the Executive Power). This regulates the classification, collection and disposal of waste, and sets rates or fees for their management services, among others.
This Law provides the payment of a mandatory contribution by any Legal Person or Entity in accordance with the following scale:
| Income Range | Contribution | ||||
| From RD$0 to RD$1,000,000.00 | RD$500.00 | ||||
| From RD$1,000,000.01 to RD$8,000,000.00 | RD$1,500.00 | ||||
| From RD$8,000,000,01 to RD$20,000,000.00 | RD$5,000.00 | ||||
| From RD$20,000,000.01 to RD$50,000,000 | RD$30,000.00 | ||||
| From RD$50,000,000.01 to RD$100,000,000.00 | RD$90,000.00 | ||||
| More than RD$100,000,000.01 | RD$260,000.00 | ||||
Said contribution will be made regardless of whether or not benefits are received, and its payment authorization will be generated with the presentation to the General Directorate of Internal Taxes (DGII) of the corresponding annual income affidavit.The collection of said payment became effective as of July 2021.
The General Directorate of Internal Taxes must transfer the amounts collected as a result of said contribution to the National Treasury of the Dominican Republic, which in turn must transfer the amounts collected to a trust account created exclusively for comprehensive waste management.
Other benefits of said law are the creation of the Green Bond and the granting of tax incentives for a period of 5 years to companies that are dedicated to the development of activities related to the reduction, transformation, recycling and use of waste, among others.
Although the effective development of the Law is still excipient, because the different Plans established there are yet to be issued, such as the Municipal Plan for Comprehensive Waste Management and the National Plan for Extended Responsibility of the Producer, Importer and Marketer, and it will be necessary to conduct multiple campaigns to educate citizens on the correct way to separate and store waste, this Law represents the beginning of a promising path for the benefit of the Health of Dominicans, and why not, an opportunity for companies that dedicate themselves to the provision of services for the integral management of solid waste, grassroots recyclers, collection centers, recovery plants and waste treatment, that with this Law will have certain advantages that may help boost their business.