President Luis Abinader officially launched the first phase of a historic transformation and environmental cleanup of the Duquesa landfill on Tuesday, 10 February 2026. The landfill site is located in northern Santo Domingo.
The initiative is a new phase in the major effort toward sustainable solid waste management for Greater Santo Domingo’s 3.8 million residents.
The program is being executed by the Ministry of Environment with financial backing from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).
The project, which carries a total investment of US$110 million, aims to mitigate long-standing public health risks and environmental degradation. During the ceremony, President Abinader emphasized that the intervention is not merely a closure of a dump site but a comprehensive ecological restoration. “Since 2020, our government has made solving the problem of open-air landfills a national priority,” the President stated. He noted that the site’s history of constant fires and toxic smoke necessitated urgent action to improve the quality of life for the surrounding population.
The first phase focuses on high-level environmental engineering to control impacts, manage risks, and begin the progressive recovery of the degraded land. The broader national policy seeks to eliminate open-air landfills across the country in favor of modern, integrated waste management systems.
Listin Diario reports on the challenges ahead to close the landfill as a dump. The celebratory atmosphere on the official stage stood in stark contrast to the scene less than a kilometer away. There, the daily routine of “buzos” (scavengers) continued unabated. Hundreds of families live and work directly within the landfill, sorting through fresh deposits for plastic, metal, and clothing to sell for survival.
“It is very different, what they say versus the reality,” said Antonio Pereira, a 31-year-old local driver who grew up in the informal settlement surrounding the site. “They came, but at no point did a committee come down here to see the real situation.”
Listin Diario reporters spoke with community members like Wilson, a 34-year-old worker at the site, estimate that over 3,000 people rely on the landfill for income. “If they close the landfill, how are we going to survive here?” he asked, highlighting a fear that the technical closure and potential privatization of waste management will exclude the vulnerable population that has operated there for decades.
Minister of the Environment Paíno Henríquez emphasized that the transformation will be gradual. The first phase focuses on critical environmental stabilization, with recreational facilities expected to be inaugurated within the next eight months.
Read more in Spanish:
Presidency
Listin Diario
Listin Diario
11 February 2026