A Chilean company has shown interest in purchasing Belize’s garbage and sargassum, according to the Honorable Rodwell Ferguson, Minister of Agriculture, during the recent fiscal budget debate in the National Assembly. Ferguson said that company representatives are expected to visit Belize on April 7th to discuss potential collaboration. While the minister did not reveal the company’s name, he mentioned that Chile has several firms specializing in recycling waste and transforming materials like plastic and seaweed into usable products, including construction materials.
He urged relevant ministries and departments to invite the visiting delegation to present innovative ideas to support the initiative. “We need to find a way forward to ensure Belize reduces sargassum and garbage,” Ferguson said. He added that the company currently operates in Mexico, where it purchases large volumes of waste. “Let’s hope that this works for the benefit of the Belizean people,” he stated.
The proposal comes as Belize continues to face increasing challenges with sargassum influxes and waste management, particularly in coastal communities. The National Meteorological Service of Belize has warned of significant accumulations affecting areas such as San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye, Caye Caulker, Hopkins, and Placencia.
On the cayes, local authorities and stakeholders have intensified cleanup efforts to keep public spaces and beaches accessible. In San Pedro, the San Pedro Town Council (SPTC) has deployed additional personnel to manage the seaweed buildup. Some businesses, including restaurants and hotels, have installed floating barriers to contain sargassum before it reaches shore.
In other areas, cleanup crews have been manually removing the seaweed, piling it along the coastline before trucking it away. These efforts are critical to maintaining tourism, particularly for beachfront businesses that depend heavily on visitor traffic.
Minister of Blue Economy and Area Representative for the Belize Rural South constituency, Honorable Andre Perez, described sargassum as one of the most pressing environmental challenges facing coastal communities. He noted that the frequency of sargassum influxes has increased across the Caribbean, impacting beaches, tourism, fisheries, and public health.
Perez emphasized that the government is treating the issue as a national priority rather than a temporary concern. He added that once the sargassum harvesters managed by the Hol Chan Marine Reserve complete maintenance, they will resume operations to collect seaweed offshore before it reaches San Pedro’s downtown beaches.
Waste management remains another concern on the island, with illegal dumping becoming increasingly problematic on Ambergris Caye. The SPTC continues to address the issue, supported by infrastructure such as the waste transfer station in southern Ambergris Caye, which serves as the main facility for sorting and transporting garbage to the mainland. A smaller transfer station opened in northern Ambergris Caye in June 2025 to improve waste handling in that area, while a similar facility operates in Caye Caulker. These sites temporarily store waste before it is transported to the Mile 24 Regional Sanitary Landfill along the George Price Highway.
