Central America & Caribbean

Dominican Republic

The Municipal League estimated about 7.3 million t/year of waste at end-2020, and the World Bank reports 72.6% open dumping, the highest in the group. The DO Sostenible trust collected RD$4.78 billion from 2021 to February 2024, and the official goal is to eliminate open dumps by 2027. No official annual tire-generation figure was verified.

Regulatory framework

The rules that shape the business

Ley 225-20 2020 In force

Ley General de Gestión Integral y Coprocesamiento de Residuos Sólidos

The country's first comprehensive waste law. Classifies end-of-life tires as special-handling waste and as an EPR priority product, alongside oils, batteries, pesticides, WEEE, packaging and foam. Creates an annual special levy, the DO Sostenible trust (art. 37), green bonds (art. 45) and a 5-year incentive regime for recovery plants.

View regulation · phlaw.com

Decreto 253-23 (solo RAEE); reglamento de neumáticos no verificado 2023 Regulation pending para neumáticos

Reglamento(s) REP de la Ley 225-20 (general y por producto prioritario)

Each priority product requires its own regulation. Only the WEEE one (Decree 253-23) was confirmed. In April 2025 the minister announced the EPR regulation proposal was complete, without listing products.

View regulation · industriasrd.micm.gob.do

Ley 98-25 2025 In force

Ley que modifica la Ley 225-20

Raises the special levies based on annual turnover, strengthens the DO Sostenible trust and control over producers and importers, and phases out foam and single-use plastics from 2026. Whether it kept the mandatory cement-kiln co-processing (art. 20 of the July 2025 bill) was not verified.

View regulation · phlaw.com

Ley 57-07 2007 In force

Ley de Incentivo al Desarrollo de Fuentes Renovables de Energía y sus Regímenes Especiales

Keeps the duty and ITBIS exemption on renewable equipment, a 5% withholding on foreign-loan interest and a 40% income-tax credit for self-generators. Covers waste-to-energy projects and mentions biomass.

View regulation · siemprealdia.co

Context

The residue, in figures

~7,3 million t/yr

Waste generation (Dominican Municipal League)

2020 · eldinero.com.do

RD$4.782,4 million

Law 225-20 collections (Jul 2021-Feb 2024)

2024 · eldinero.com.do

>350

Open dumps (official statement)

2015 (desactualizado) · acento.com.do

4.063.910

MSW generation (tonnes/year)

c. 2010-2016 (What a Waste 2.0, publ. 2018) · datacatalogfiles.worldbank.org

72,6

MSW sent to open dumps (%)

c. 2010-2016 (What a Waste 2.0, publ. 2018) · datacatalogfiles.worldbank.org

Incentives

Law 225-20 granted 100% exemption from income and asset taxes and 100% from duties and ITBIS on machinery for recovery plants, for 5 years from enactment (Oct 2020); this window would have expired in Oct 2025 and no extension in Law 98-25 was verified. It also provides green bonds and the DO Sostenible trust. Law 57-07 exempts renewable equipment from duties and ITBIS and gives self-generators a 40% income-tax credit.

Which technology fits Dominican Republic

Priority feedstock: End-of-life tires (EPR priority product) and plastics/foam being phased out
Why: Law 225-20 already defines tires as an EPR priority product and requires producers to run a national recovery program, in a country with 72% open dumping and a goal to close dumps by 2027. A pyrolysis plant producing oil, carbon black and steel can be the authorized manager once the tire regulation is issued.

PYR

Pyrolysis

From end-of-life tires to products with a market.

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Sources consulted

Reference information compiled from public sources as of October 2026. It is not legal advice; confirm each regulation is current before making decisions.

Verification level: Medium

Other countries in the region

Panama Costa Rica Guatemala Honduras El Salvador Nicaragua

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