Living from Garbage

The sanitary fill in Guatemala City

In 1960, a ravine in zones 3 and 7 was first used as a place to deposit the waste of the city. It is still there that you find the only authorized sanitary fill.

It is estimated by the municipality that around 1,500 tons of garbage are produced daily, of which 70% goes to the sanitary fill and the rest to unauthorized garbage locations. Nevertheless, Greenpeace has recently declared that 7,000 tons are produced daily in the city.

There are hundreds of persons that work up to 12 hours a day at the sanitary fill, looking for material that can be sold for recycling. These persons are commonly called "guajeros". They specialize in obtaining materials such as aluminum, paper, glass, cardboard or plastics. They are organized in such a hierarchy , that newcomers cannot join without approval.

The garbage dump is a fairly good-sized market where goods are sold and bought. Some people collect, others sell, and others stock the materials until the buyers with their trucks arrive to take everything to be recycled.

Garbage removal services

The Cleaning Department of the Municipality is in charge of collecting all waste from public streets, markets, schools, hospitals and parks. In order to do so, the Department has a transportation system (trucks, compactors, frontal carriers) and 326 persons that sweep manually.

' The municipality collects approximately 33% of all the waste that is deposited in the sanitary fill, the remainder is collected by private businesses. They have 330 authorized trucks that collect garbage from private homes, businesses and industries, for which they have obtained a license from the municipality.

A conflict was initiated when the Mayor demanded a complete mechanization of the waste removal system. There were 19 foreign companies that offered their services, but it all ended due to protests from the private companies that own their trucks and from the many "guajeros" who felt their jobs were endangered.

Problems and projects for the Municipality of Guatemala

Jesús Oliva, responsible for statistics in the Cleaning Department of the Municipality has advised that two new sanitary fills are planned. There are also plans for a new recycling plant, with cooperation from Japanese investors, modeled after the system used in Curitiba, Brasil.

All municipal services can significantly improve if the pertaining authorities take care to supervise, while the organized members of the communities take charge of the administrative aspects.

The garbage market is a good example of how small businessmen, such as the "guajeros" and other middlemen have discovered that even in the garbage classification there is profits to be found.