Academex Digital Publishing, makers of TekTrek® downloadable destination guides, and Common Sense Solutions, a leading plastics recycling consulting firm, jointly announced today that they have completed work on a plan for plastics recycling throughout Cancun and the Riviera Maya. The plan follows a feasibility study that the companies submitted to the United Nations Foundation in May. Chartered by the World Heritage Alliance, a partnership of the United Nations Foundation and Expedia, the plan has been developed in response to an overwhelming interest of member organizations to protect and preserve the natural beauty and cultural heritage of the region.

The document outlines a plan for hotels, restaurants, and other tourism related businesses to form a cooperative association to collect millions of plastic bottles that are consumed every day in throughout the Yucatan peninsula. Participating businesses will collect the plastics disposed in their places of business and provide them to the association for recycling.

Currently, most plastics in the region are disposed in local landfills or littered, having a vast negative impact on the value of tourism in the area. “Most recycling plants could not be profitable because the logistics of collection are too expensive. By coordinating the collection, the World Heritage Alliance will not only make recycling feasible, it will take a tremendous step toward a more appealing experience for millions of travelers. Academex is proud to play a role,” said Jeff Cozart, president of Academex Digital Publishing.

Academex Digital Publishing became an associate partner in the World Heritage Alliance, a partnership to promote sustainable tourism, in November, 2006. The company partners with destination marketing organizations and administrators of cultural, historical, and natural sites to promote sustainable tourism and historical preservation.


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About Academex Digital Publishing:
Academex Digital Publishing is a leading provider of tourism information for cultural, natural, and historical travel and makers of TekTrek® downloadable destination guides. TekTrek® programs offer highly researched information about artifacts and points of interest within some of the most popular cultural and historical tour sites. Programs are available for download from partnering resellers and from www.tektrek.com. Audio tour devices are also available for rent at the entrance gates of selected World Heritage sites in partnership with local administrative agencies.


About Common Sense Solutions:
Common Sense Solutions is a plastics recycling consulting firm in Montclair, New Jersey. The company specializes in engineering, maintenance, and operations of recycling plants. As experts in the industry, Common Sense Solutions consultants have played a central role in the majority of recycling operations in North America. For more information, visit: www.c-sense-solutions.com.


About the World Heritage Alliance:
The World Heritage Alliance works to support World Heritage conservation, sustainable tourism, and local economic development for communities in and around World Heritage sites. The UN Foundation and Expedia, Inc. created the World Heritage Alliance for Sustainable Tourism in the Fall of 2005. Academex Digital Publishing became an associate partner of the alliance in November, 2006. For more information, visit: www.worldheritagealliance.org.


Contact information, press only:
Jeff Cozart, Academex Digital Publishing, (+1)303.237.5982 or jcozart@tektrek.com

Amy DiElsi, UN Foundation, 202.887.9040 or adielsi@unfoundation.org


For more information:
• Academex Digital Publishing—Interactive media and content about cultural tourism and heritage destinations: www.tektrek.com.
• Common Sense Solutions—Recycling solutions including equipment, maintenance, operations, and engineering of plastics recycling plants: www.c-sense-solutions.com.
• World Heritage Alliance—Information for travel industry companies and their support of World Heritage conservation: www.worldheritagealliance.org.
• Friends of World Heritage—Information for individuals looking learn about sustainable tourism: www.friendsofworldheritage.org.