Alejandro Romero Nuñez of Hotel San Cristóbal and Isabel Calderón Villafán of Rancho Corazón / Dum were celebrated as agents of change in the community. They and their teams were trained by Alianza Cero Basura (ACB) in separating their waste into 4 categories: compostable organics, non-compostable organics, recyclables and garbage. The collection and recycling company Natura collected the waste on a volunteer basis, and delivered it to the appropriate facilities. The ACB team provided regular follow-ups and surprise audits. Both companies achieved impressive results in 3 intensive months, reducing the amount of garbage they send to the dump by 56% to 71%. Further, both companies became so inspired by the process that they have both started on-site composting operations. These two Agent Zeros and their teams have proven that our community can successfully direct waste away from the landfill and into productive uses.

The data ACB captured as part of these two pilot projects will be instrumental in helping to determine the size, scale and resources required for a larger, community-wide waste separation program. This program is conducted in partnership with the sanitation department of the Municipality of La Paz.