Ask anything. We answer plainly.

Every industry has emissions, and we won’t pretend otherwise. What matters is how much, compared to what, and who controls it.

Today, trash already pollutes: landfills release methane and leachate, and in many backyards trash is burned with no control at all. Orchidean One treats its gases in several stages before release, is designed to meet European Union limits — among the strictest in the world — and publishes its readings. See the full answer.

No. Trash arrives in closed trucks and is unloaded inside a sealed building. The air inside is drawn into the furnace: odors don’t escape, they get burned. That’s why plants like these operate in the middle of Vienna, Copenhagen and Tokyo.

Modern plants changed radically. In the United States, dioxin emissions from these plants fell more than 99% between 1990 and 2005 thanks to modern filters. In Germany, household fireplaces and wood stoves emit about 20 times more dioxin than all its plants combined.

Orchidean One is designed with that cleaning technology, with continuous measurement and the data in plain sight. If a value goes over the limit, people will know.

No. Recycling and composting come first; the plant takes what has no other use and is buried today. That’s exactly what Costa Rica’s Law 8839 sets out: avoid, reduce, reuse, recover… and bury only as a last resort.

The countries that recycle most also use these plants: Germany recycles or composts 69% of its municipal waste and turns much of the rest into energy.

The first plant, Orchidean One, will be in Cartago; the second, in Alajuela. The exact site is chosen through technical studies and public consultation: an industrial or compatible zone under the local zoning plan, away from homes, outside protected areas and aquifer recharge zones, close to main highways and an electrical substation. See the criteria and timeline.

The program targets completing studies and permits in about 6 months. After that, construction takes 18–22 months. It’s fast because the design is already proven in hundreds of plants: civil works and equipment manufacturing move forward at the same time.

Yes. Law 8839 on Integrated Waste Management includes energy recovery as a form of waste valorization, and since 2015 Decree 39136-S-MINAE has regulated operating conditions and emission limits for this kind of facility. Like any large project, it needs environmental approval from SETENA and municipal permits.

Yes. The Environmental Impact Study reviewed by SETENA includes public participation, and ReEnergy will also hold open sessions in the communities. The project has already been presented to municipalities and the Ministry of Health. Sign up on the home page and we’ll let you know the dates.

Good question. Our trash has a lot of organic matter and moisture. That’s why a study of the country’s actual waste — moisture and heating value — is under way to fine-tune the design. Trash rests in a sealed pit to drain, and a moving multi-stage grate keeps it moving and mixing so it burns completely, between 850 and 1,100 °C.

Trash shrinks to about a tenth of its volume. Metals are recovered for recycling. Bottom ash can be reused in construction (Denmark reuses nearly all of its own). The fine ash from the filters — a small share — is handled under Ministry of Health oversight.

We won’t promise that: rates are set by the regulator, ARESEP. What Orchidean One does provide is firm power, produced every day, rain or shine. In 2024 there were blackouts and the country spent hundreds of millions of dollars on fuel and electricity imports. Every megawatt that doesn’t depend on rain helps.

The entire investment is private, by ReEnergy: not one colón of public money. Municipalities would pay a per-tonne fee equal to or below what they pay today to haul their trash to Guápiles or Puntarenas, with a stable price and a secure destination for their trash.

You won’t have to take our word for it: emissions are measured continuously and published on the monitoring page and on public screens outside the plant and at the municipalities. The Ministry of Health oversees the plant, and regular independent audits are mandatory, with public results.

Because every new landfill needs a huge piece of land no neighborhood wants, and it fills up in a few years. The Central Valley’s landfills are already at their limit and some trash travels over 300 km to Limón. Burying is the most expensive option in the long run: the land is lost, methane is released and the trash stays there forever.

About 150 permanent technical jobs, plus employment during construction, with priority for local people and technical training programs.

These have signed (non-binding) letters of interest: Santa Ana, Curridabat, Alajuelita, Desamparados, Montes de Oca (San Pedro), La Unión and others. If you represent a municipality, request a technical meeting.