Environmental protection in Belize

When these "questions come up on the posts and it is obvious they are put on the boards for many countries, often the first thing that i think is wow this person has never seen Belize. The Questions are always couched in Phrases applicable to western developed countries.
As Belize is not such a country it is hard to answer.  Is the country 'going green' well it is more than  70% rain rainforest so is pretty green, many parts of the country, outside of the Towns and villages, rely on renewable energies, and water conservation Because there are no mains systems in place. Public transport is actually quite good but expats often complain as to the age and reliability of the actual busses. Belize is a work in progress and probably will still be in 20 years time. That is part of its appeal  we just hope that progress will not change the character too much.
There have been complaints from expats who have been in Belize a long time that Ambergris Caye is "ruined" it is too crowded, too much traffic too noisy. Well newcomers who didn't know sleepy little San Pedro 25 years ago  find a refreshingly different vacation place that is unique to itself and love it for how it is now. Progress is viewed differently by everyone.

That is the attitude and opinion that make me and Carmelle more than excited to be there... Coming down to experience this for a month in November!!!!

The actual laws here for conservation and environmental protection are quite good. The problem is that they don't have the resources to enforce them. Most people generally appreciate the animals and are proud of their country but still throw trash on the ground. Recycling is almost unheard of. So you have an incredible biodiversity, a lot of protected land and animals and quite a few people who are doing cool things with alternative technology, but something really basic like trash and recycling is a real problem, especially in rural areas.

That is one of my concerns in relocating to Belize, the high cost of electricity. Have wondered why solar and geo-thermal aren't being more widely promoted?

More than anything else, the financial investment in renewable is prohibitive for both the population at large, and the government. Individuals with the resources, and some of the newer developments/'communities' are going solar/renewable, but it is a slow process. There are a few companies in Belize that install & promote solar use. We will utilize both solar and micro-hydro on our property, but will also have line power available. Building design can have a huge impact on your power consumption in the tropics, so that could offset your costs also.
Recycling is/could be a huge opportunity in Belize, but might be a difficult start-up. It is something  I have considered doing.
Law enforcement is the issue in environmental protection. Having them and enforcing them are not the same.

Oh I initially cringe when I read these questions, as you have to live in Belize to appreciate where it actually is with regard to this subject. Its a lot to do with the lack of education with regard to the environment. I guess its where most countries were 20 years ago. In the UK at that time all of our waste was sent to landfill. Now we are moving away from that and probably 90% of our waste is recycled. Belize is a beautiful country, however you will see piles of rubbish dumped in the most beautiful areas.  What you and I see as an amazing rain forest some Belizians see as a legitimate dump, where if they set fire to the rubbish/trash it will go away.

Saying this there is now a recycling facility just outside San Ignacio, we take all our trash there and the guy takes it for a couple of dollars. Its not what you are probably used to however, its a start, its not doing that well financially? Hence the slight charge for dumping as it used to be free.

Our home is totally off grid with solar power and rain water capture for both washing and drinking. You right the initial infrastructure is quite expensive but there are good solar providers and installers in the country. We are now looking at a solar water heater, again these area available in country but as everything is imported, you pay a premium price. We will purchase the equipment and build it ourselves which will save on costs.

I agree that recycling could be a good option in Belize, however, maybe the volume is not there as in other countries. The population is only around 800,000 you you may not have the quantity of trash/waste to make a profitable business.

I was unaware of the individual in San Ignacio but that is fantastic. I will look him up and see if I can assist him in his endeavor.
There is a recycling technology start-up in Belize that is based on the VPU milling process, but they don't have the financial support they need to actually make it functional -www.vortechunlimited.com, if you have an interest. A really phenomenal patented technology, but expensive to build. Most of the guys involved live in the San Ignacio/Santa Elena area.

We initially were purely Solar for a year and a half, but at the start of this year we connected   Mains electricity  in addition, we have what my son refers to as the Frankenstein switch to change from one to the other our last months electricity bill was $12.30 BZE so having both is not expensive.   We have an instant hot water ( bottled gas) and gas cooking.
The origination costs for solar are expensive but the running costs are bottled distilled water to top up batteries. In the wet season when you can have a series of cloudy days together it was a case of using as little power as possible, usually the entertainment type items are the first switched off, the addition of the Mains solves this problem, we don't  have AC  we just use Fans which is OK with me, but it is those running AC all the time who seem to find the power costs very high.
Plastic recycleables are also taken at West Star just outside Belmopan, who will take them free, even pay a token amount for them. We do burn the paper and card waste in a burn pit' ashes from which are added to the compost  for later land use.

Thank you all for the information and is very informative, we are thinking of moving to the Corozal area. We use geo-thermal here for A. C. is there a reason it isn't practical there?

I dont know but There is a high water table in Belize don't know if that affects it and have never seen a company in Belize offer it.

jimmielee68,
I am not an engineer and don't profess to know too much about Geo Thermal, my experience was in the construction and connection. My first thought is that in Canada the ground after 6-8 feet down normally never got much warmer that 53 deg. F and that would probably be slightly higher in Georgia. I know that sizing required a lot of calculations to be sure that the ground didn't become heat saturated in the summer or the opposite during heating season. I would suspect in a country like Belize where the ground goes from hot to hotter that there is not much cool to be extracted and as heat is dispensed it would not be able to dissipate at a required rate and would in a short time build up all that heat and render the system useless. Again this is not scientific fact but my instinct based on my limited experience with Geo.

A more credible reason may be that the high import taxes placed on these technologies create a long payback graph. I would think part of the reason for high import taxes could be that the only source of electricity is Belize Electric Limited (BEL) which is government owned.

Billdoesbelize,
Yes, you are probably right on both assumptions, I never thought about the ground temperature not being much help in cooling as it is here. Solar seems to be the best alternative. Thank you so much for your insight.

I am also not an engineer, but have looked into geothermal for AC in Belize. Based on rough calculations, I don't think there is enough temperature difference between the ambient air temp and the ground temp to be able to effectively use this method. I am considering a similar scenario using ground water on my property, but I have not measured the water temp yet.  Probably not significantly different from the ground temp, but possibly enough to be effective. I plan to use solar and micro-hydro, and utilize high-ceilings as well as other "tropical" building measures,  but I would like to use geothermal if it is possible. As for cost of geothermal - some excavation, some pipe, ventilation duct work,  a low power pump, a blower, and a thermostat. Easily obtainable in Belize.

karenjoe,
Thanks so much for the info. We would look into solar also and still be hooked onto the grid for rainy season.
My wife has skin allergies that are aggravated by heat and humidity, so we definitely have to have a.c.

SP found some body pooped in his Cheerios again. Life's a bitch.😷