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The community campaign “Don’t let it touch the ground or reach the water” is an initiative that seeks to conserve water through the correct management of solid waste and its diversion from storm drains.
This effort focused on improving solid waste management arises from the interest, concern and action of the Machuchal community through Loíza Street and bordering sectors.
We appreciate the close collaboration with the La Goyco Community Workshop and the Machuchal Limpio Committee.
Estuario recognizes the importance of integrating artists, neighbors, leaders, residents, and liaisons into its community initiatives. This is key to continuing the efforts begun in the communities and ensuring committed, dedicated, and willing representation.
Iliana García 's community involvement , commitment, and performance in the Machuchal community and Loíza Street has resulted in a consistent spokesperson to improve solid waste management.
Joining as a community liaison is neighbor Jesús Perez, founder of Desvidrio, an initiative for managing and diverting glass waste. His creativity, perseverance, and interest in environmental sustainability strengthen this initiative from several angles.
The Estuary thanks artist and local resident Yolanda Velazquez for the artwork and visual design of this campaign. Through a questionnaire, she gathered information from various sectors of the community to develop the project's image. The entire design phase was conducted digitally, using virtual tools and involving the community through questionnaires, workshops, and phone calls.
The communication and community engagement process continued from another angle. A total of 82 responses were received, resulting in the official logo.
These elements formed the basis for the campaign's main logo: hands clasped together in a circle embracing the sea . The arrangement of the colors evokes a seascape, with blue representing the sea, yellow the sun, white the foam of the waves and clouds, and red the land and human presence. Black defines the shapes to highlight the brilliance of the other colors and forms in the design.
As part of the collaborators' commitment, a memorandum of understanding was created to develop official partnerships for undertaking actions aimed at implementing the project. These collaborators include the following:
We share the following video that presents the efforts of this initiative; the importance of properly managing used cooking oil and protecting water infrastructure:
The importance of including the commercial sector as part of this initiative's strategy is to schedule visits and evaluations of the daily operations of merchants along Loíza Street, with the goal of providing them with tools to highlight actions in favor of the environment in the daily management of businesses.
The actions evaluated include: public education, filtered water, diversion and/or handling of materials, not using disposable materials, use of compostable tableware and/or materials, oil recycling, use of eco-friendly products, and responsible cleaning.
On Saturday, February 3, 2024, as part of the La Goyco Community Workshop's Community Fair, the "Don't Let It Touch the Ground or Reach the Water" campaign—an initiative to improve solid waste management and water conservation along Loíza Street—recognized the volunteers who have contributed to the campaign's efforts. On this occasion, the campaign wanted to acknowledge the volunteers, neighbors, and collaborators for their effort and commitment to the initiatives undertaken.
Recognition was given to those who participated in large-scale events (Tito Matos Fest, Christmas Lighting Ceremony, etc.), the diversion of materials (organic waste, glass, oil, batteries, cardboard, aluminum), members of Machuchal Limpio, the La Goyco Community Workshop team, general collaborators, neighbors who labeled their trash containers, workshop leaders, the Candela plena group, and others. To more than 150 people, we say: Thank you for supporting the conservation of natural resources, public health, and our waterways!
Estuary seeks to raise awareness about the connection between solid waste management and water quality through a comprehensive educational campaign. To this end, a water monitoring system was established to identify improvements in water quality and correlate changes with the measures implemented through the educational process. A series of parameters were selected to identify the conditions of the water flowing through the storm drains. These parameters were chosen based on three references: parameters studied by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in impact studies related to landfills and leachate, parameters historically studied by the San Juan Bay Estuary, and parameters recommended by the laboratory responsible for conducting the analyses for the established project.
In 2021, a public policy focus was added to the campaign. Outreach and communication with the community and the business sector have informed the concerns and recommendations being communicated to the Municipality of San Juan, the Department of Transportation and Public Works, the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, and the legislature. This new contribution, using public policy as an educational, facilitating, and oversight tool, creates an opportunity for lasting change.
As part of supporting the transition of businesses on Loíza Street to comply with Law 51-2022 , known as the Law to prohibit the sale and use of single-use plastics in all commercial establishments, we share this information sheet with the fundamental points of the Law for the benefit of all.
The purpose of this Public Policy Library is to collect and classify in an orderly manner the legal framework related to the conservation of natural resources. 
Similarly, legal instruments that promote the proper management of solid waste are included. These are also organized and classified to facilitate access to resources related to all aspects of environmental conservation and protection. We invite you to explore each tab of our virtual library, starting with the legend that serves as a guide to understanding the presented categories.
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