Guatemala's Rivers of Garbage

[Judi Lynn]

A man picks through the garbage along the banks of the Las Vacas River in Chinautla, Guatemala, in April 2023.

With thousands of tons of garbage polluting the country’s waterways, community volunteers have had to take charge.

BY JEFF ABBOTT AUGUST 16, 2023 9:00 PM

The banks of the Las Vacas River outside Guatemala City are covered in twisted plastic bags and packaging, Styrofoam plates, and other detritus.

Along a ridge overlooking the river, a dump truck unloads piles of garbage, while another drops dirt over them. The ensuing cascade of refuse and earth kicks up dust as it slides down the hill and into the river, while a nearby elderly man picks through the rubbish.

The Las Vacas River, which also carries raw sewage from Guatemala City, runs through the municipality of Chinautla, just seven miles from the capital. The area has become a clandestine dump, the result of runoff from the capital and a lack of waste management by municipal officials.

Gladis Chacón, a twenty-nine-year-old resident of Chinautla, has never seen the river when it was clear, but her mother remembers fish living in it decades ago. Now, it’s filled with waste that increases during the rainy season, when the waters rise.

“The municipality does nothing about the garbage,” Chacón tells The Progressive. “My mother says the water was crystal clear before.”

. . .

The majority of the garbage ends up in clandestine dumps, like the one in Chinautla. The Guatemalan Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources estimates that there are nearly 10,000 clandestine dumps across the country.

More:
https://progressive.org/magazine/guatemala%E2%80%99s-rivers-of-garbage-abbott-20230816/

[Demovictory9]

1. Ugh. 😵

[Hermit-The-Prog]

2. That's heartbreaking.