The approval of a project to build a private landfill in Picagres de Mora, west of San José, has stirred up local opposition.
The project, promoted by Parque Industrial Jateo S.A, was initially presented to the National Technical Secretariat of the Environment Ministry (SETENA) in 2002, and was approved earlier this year. The landfill will receive approximately 1,200 tons of trash per day from the Central Valley for the next 17 years.
The 237-hectare landfill will be located on a rocky back road that leads to the new Caldera Highway from Ciudad Colón.
But many of the residents of Ciudad Colón oppose the project because they say the route through the town that leads to the location of the proposed landfill cannot support the heavy garbage trucks that will rumble through their peaceful town and past their homes.
They also claim that a fault zone rests beneath the area where the landfill will be built, putting the area’s mantle level aquifers at risk of pollution. Contamination from the project could also harm the nearby El Rodeo protected forest, they claim.
Parque Industrial Jateo S.A. has said that they will improve bridges and sewage systems in the area and make the road that passes through Ciudad Colón en route to the landfill suitable for trucks.
In an attempt to halt further progress on the landfill, residents of Mora collected 2,000 signatures in a petition that cites the possible negative environmental impacts of the project and presented the documents to the Ombudswoman’s office.
The Ombudswoman’s office has yet to issue an opinion on the project.
