interior

City has 48 hours to solve trash issue

Health officials in Coclé ordered Penonomé to resume garbage collection or face a fine.

edilsa gonzáles/la prensa

waste woes: Garbage piles up in Penonomé as officials tarry in designating a new landfill.1097271

The city of Penonomé will face a fine if it fails to resume trash collection and designate a dump site within the next 48 hours, according to a mandate by regional health officials.

Penonomé Mayor Manuel Cardenas received the order yesterday after residents of local suburbs protested the unsanitary conditions of the area as garbage accumulated in the streets.

Francisco Navarro, regional director de Salud in the province of Coclé, said he worried that the malodorous piles of trash throughout the city could cause an outbreak of disease or attract vermin.

The health official met this week with Mayor Cardenas and the governor of the province to discuss a definitive solution to the problem of solid waste disposal in the area.

Navarro explained that the current landfill site at Los Cerritos looks promising, as the trash there is being buried in an adequate manner, unlike in some of the makeshift dump sites that have been used in the meantime.

Navarro said that the city could be fined between $500 and $5,000 if it ignores the order to collect trash throughout the city and in surrounding areas.

Yesterday, residents of Las Guabas and Puerto El Gago took to the city streets for the second consecutive day to urge city officials to take action on the waste issue. Local defensor del Pueblo Ricardo Vargas attended the protests and led an inspection of the Los Cerritos dump.

Vargas, who has prepared a special report on the matter in addition to sharing his recommendations with city officials, vowed that together with the authorities and community members, an “holistic” resolution would be sought to the problem.