Trash Problem Starts To Pile Up for Managua

EFE January 25, 2008

MANAGUA – The mayor’s office of Managua last week announced that it will extend the trash pickup hours into the night to combat the capital’s growing garbage problem.

According to Jorge Berríos, director of public services for the mayor’s office, the trash problem has become intolerable in certain neighborhoods, where residents are complaining about the smells and health risks. Some residents have complained that there has been no trash pickup in their neighborhoods for more than three weeks.

Berríos says that Managua’s garbage production has increased around 20%, resulting in a crisis because at least a dozen of the municipality’s garbage trucks are broken-down and out of circulation.

As a stopgap measure, he said, the municipality last week started using dump trucks at night to help collect garbage.

Next month, the mayor’s office will purchase 35 new garbage trucks thanks to a donation from the Italian government.