Puertotitlan de las A(n)tenas

Let’s Talk Trash, Again

Time to talk trash, again. Anyone who has read my articles on Puerto Vallarta knows that this is one of my favorite subjects.

As the months and years go by, the garbage situation in Puerto Vallarta never seems to change all that much.

Not true! During the past six months, there have been meetings held, contracts signed, unions accommodated, inspections made and charges raised. The only thing that seems to not have changed is the garbage on the corners and in the streets.

In August of last year the Municipal government announced that they would begin the process of accepting bids from private companies for the collection of the garbage in Puerto Vallarta.

The service would be better. The savings would be substantial. Then the fight started.

There was the legal opinion that it was the responsibility of the city government to collect the garbage and that It could not be “privatized”.

The unions demanded that only union employees would be able to continue with the recycling business in the transfer station and the sanitary landfill.

The negotiation over how much would be paid to a contracted company began. The collection hours became more confusing than ever.

Going into the Christmas season, the longstanding inefficiency of garbage collection by the government became more and more apparent.

Of the 22 Municipal garbage trucks (figures varied with each person questioned and each article that appeared), only 12 were in service with the remainder in for repairs. Sometimes, only 7 trucks were available.

The government had to rent trucks to cover the shortage of trucks in operation. During the Christmas holidays, garbage remained on the street corners for days.

The government admitted that they were 40% deficient in garbage collection. I had never heard the Municipal government admit that they were doing such a bad job, even when it was obvious; never.

Not only was it obvious that garbage collection was in crisis, the cell that was opened at the new Gavilanes garbage dump over a year ago was already full. When announced in 2009, it was supposed to last 6 years.

Regardless, surely with a new company soon to be contracted to collect the garbage and the long-standing promise that a recycling program as required by the “Programa de Gestion Integral de Residuos Solidos Urbanos” would be included, these measures alone would go a long way to improve the situation.

(You can read the State Law, in English and Spanish, on our website: www.grupoecologico.com)

On the last day of January, the concession was granted to a combination of companies, Proactiva Medio Ambiente and Servicios y Tecnologia Ambiental, S.A. de C.V. (SETASA) to collect the garbage. The city will pay approximately $350 Pesos per ton of garbage collected. The new company will not begin for the next 3 months, so May 1st. But, the concession was only for the domestic garbage, which represents about 50% of the estimated 350 to 400 tons generated by Puerto Vallarta every day, and recycling would only be handled once the garbage arrives at the transfer station or sanitary land fill.

I find it difficult to understand how a recycling program will be successful when the garbage collection company is not integrally included in the program, but, we’ll see how it is going to work once they get started.

The other 50% of the garbage collection, called Garbage Requiring Special Treatment, will remain for the Municipal government to collect. This is garbage generated by hotels, restaurants and other businesses.

The government has always charged a fee to these businesses for garbage collection and will continue to do so. However, this charge is now two to three times what it was before.

The charge is also being attached to the business license renewal this year so that when a business renews it business license, they also have to pay the increased garbage collection charge. Then the fight started.
So, after half a year of discussions about garbage in Puerto Vallarta, a concession has been granted…for half the garbage.

And the government will save money…but, the businesses will pay more. Solutions and savings are still being debated.

Garbage in Puerto Vallarta over the past six months has taken on a life unto itself. Some photos of Puerto Vallarta garbage adorning the streets was captured at Christmas time.

Unfortunately, this new life has not yet included a great deal of collection, and even less recycling.

The State Law requiring recycling took effect January 1, 2008. During the past 3 years, the Grupo Ecológico has been providing assistance to those who are interested in composting and recycling with private recyclers.

We all hope that SETASA, the private company which will begin with residential garbage collection on May 1st, will have the knowledge and experience to begin an effective recycling program.

And, if recycling does not begin within the coming year…then the fight will start.