Ricardo Alvarado is a good-jovial global citizen, who has been working for most of his life for a greener planet. His CV is impressive: he was Ambassador to Finland, Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. He has travelled from his native Nicaragua to many countries, including Northern Europe, and now lives in Finland. After more than 20 years in diplomacy, Ricardo has been piloting initiatives for removing plastic waste.
“Unfortunately, we need more technologies like Clewat’s,” assures Ricardo, clarifying that “I say unfortunately because we shouldn’t have these kinds of plastic pollution problems in the first place. Technologies like those of Clewat’s provide hope for the future.” Yet the waste pandemic, which is only getting worse, faces us with an urgent issue, a serious climatic health problem, and a major technical challenge. “We have to remove plastic waste from coasts and waters and prevent it from further damaging the environment. We must act now before it is too late.”
He has personally seen how climate change has affected Central America and the Caribbean. Hurricane Dorian struck the Bahamas in 2019, while in November 2020, Central America was hit in two weeks by two devastating relatives (Iota and Eta). “As is now realized, marine litter has a great deal of responsibility in the formation of more powerful cyclones. Keijo and Marko, from Clewat, saw last October, during their visit to the Gulf of Honduras, how plastic waste has impacted the environment and local communities,” Ricardo adds: “In addition to having a destructive environmental impact, plastic waste poses health hazards to people.”
Ricardo has not only been an ambassador. He is a Chemical Engineer and knows the subject well. “Research shows that more than 10,000 ingredients are used to make plastics. Only a limited number have been studied environmentally. Many represent substantial risks to the habitat and human health,” he affirms.
“We must keep working together, ensuring a cleaner and greener world for tomorrow.” People and the sea are, directly or indirectly, connected to each other. If the sea has problems, those also become people’s problems. People and wildlife both suffer from the known and unknown harmful effects of plastic waste. It should not be like that.
When Ricardo was Ambassador in Denmark, he travelled to work by bicycle. “I enjoy cycling and the beauty and purity of nature. And of course I want to see rivers, lakes and seas clean, free of pollution.”
This multi-talented man is completed dedicated to his goals. He has been for more than 20 years an advocate for a greener society, and he continues to acclaim the importance of this subject. “Pollution is hitting poor countries the hardest. We should organize our lives according to Sustainable Development Goals,” he emphasizes.
Clewat Oy welcomes warmly a new professional to our team with the hope that we can help Central American countries, and other nations, to successfully tackle their environmental challenges!