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Protected areas used as dumps

The Defensoría del Pueblo has issued a warning about the garbage problem.

The arrival of new garbage trucks may not provide the relief that some are expecting.

IVÁN URIBE/LA PRENSA

overflowing: Authorities are worried about the health hazards created by an excess of uncollected garbage in urban areas.965263

The Panamanian garbage collection system faces serious problems. So said the Defensoría del Pueblo after inspections last year showed the neglect of garbage collections by the Municipio de Panamá and the accumulation of solid waste along the path that leads to the Cerro Patacón landfill will most probably give rise to environmental as well as health problems.

After analyzing the collection, transportation, treatment and disposal of solid waste in the province of Panama and in other provinces of the interior, the Defensoría del Pueblo warned of "possible environmental contamination" and a "high risk to the health of the population in the areas of Panama City, Arraijan, La Chorrera, Capira, Las Tablas and Chitré."

The Defensoría del Pueblo found out through last year's investigation that the final disposal of solid waste is mostly done in protected areas such as mangroves, beaches and swamps. The deaths from malaria and dengue in San Miguelito and Panama are related to the poor management of garbage disposal. The accumulation of garbage in these areas serves as a nesting haven for the mosquitoes that carry the diseases, authorities say.

The arrival of new trucks to collect garbage does not guarantee that the problem will be improved either, authorities from the Municipio de Panamá told La Prensa yesterday. "The collection system has become an untenable situation and it will get worse everyday."

The garbage problem worsens because of the rapid, unplanned urban expansion of the capital city and because Panamanians are unprepared to respond adroitly to the situation.

The Alcaldía de Panamá's director of communications, David Lindo, said that "with the arrival of the new trucks, collection routes and the garbage collection system will improve gradually."

Nevertheless, Ricardo Vargas, from the Defensoría del Pueblo, insisted that new garbage trucks arrived in the past but the problems remained the same or even got worse over time.