14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 13 August 2024 — Mayelín moved a week ago to the municipality of Diez de Octubre, and now that she walks daily on the Luyanó road, she says that all the neighbors live in a kind of “olfactory numbness.” According to the 28-year-old habanera, there are more trash dumps along the road than she can count, some even in a “wild” state, with small vermin and their own ecosystems. Living among the waste is already difficult, she says, but with the smell they give off “it’s impossible to breathe.”
On the pavement, says Mayelín, “a river of sewage passes through that comes out of a broken pipe, and, on its way, it collects all the liquid from the food, dirt and rot of the garbage dumps. The smell is unbearable, and it even upsets my stomach, but I have noticed that it only bothers me.” With little time living in Luyanó, the young woman has realized that her neighbors, although they complain about the garbage and other problems, don’t seem to care about the stench of the landfills.
“I think that living constantly among garbage, without a vehicle ever passing by to pick it up or an unobstructed pipe through which the water can leave, has forced them to adapt. I, who moved recently, am still sorry, but I am horrified by the idea that we can so easily normalize this situation because we have to,” she laments.
In Barrientos, as the area of the neighborhood sports complex is known, a huge garbage dump extends for several meters
In Barrientos, as the area of the neighborhood sports complex is known, a huge garbage dump extends for several meters – horizontally and vertically – on the corner formed by the streets of Pedro Pernas and Manuel Pruna. In the middle of the road where the waste does not reach, stagnant water prevents the passage of passers-by.
“Every morning when I take the dog for a walk I have to go around the pestilent mass to cross the street,” says Yunior, a resident of that area. According to the young man, the trash dump, one of the largest in Luyanó, has begun to attract its own fauna. Cockroaches, flies, mosquitoes and some rats that occasionally can be seen are not the only tenants. “African snails have also begun to appear. Wherever there is a piece of earth and grass, you’ll find one,” he says.
The invasive species, which years ago starred in the Public Health ads on Cuban Television for its danger to human life, has begun to roam freely throughout the Island. “Now that they are everywhere and there are no resources to kill them, the government has stopped talking about them, as if they were suddenly harmless. It’s obvious that they don’t want to create alarm,” Yunior reflects.
“The amount of bugs attracted by the garbage dump is so great that my dog, who likes to hunt flies, goes crazy chasing them. It’s funny, but when you think about where all that filth comes from, you lose the desire to laugh,” he explains.
While it is true that the less visible neighborhoods suffer the worst part of the garbage epidemic by being away from the eyes of foreigners and leaders, it is also a fact that, in the current state of the capital, not even the privileged areas are exempt. A video recently published by Martí Noticias showed the fountain of the National Hotel, one of the most emblematic sites in the city, right in front of the Malecón, where diplomats and guests of the regime go. In the images you can see a green crust of moss and garbage in a pool of fetid water.
The same happens with the bay of Havana , which is covered with cans, plastic cups and plastic bags when a storm removes the water.
The direct responsibility for this situation lies with the State’s Communal Services, but the truth is that company also does not know how – without the necessary resources – to deal with the garbage that accumulates throughout the Island. An almost pitiful example is that of Las Tunas, where the authorities have been trying to battle the waste for months, first by hiring private carts and then, when this measure did not work, by promoting voluntary work every Saturday.
This last proposal, as expected, did not go anywhere either, and now the province is trying to get Materias Primas [Raw Materials] to take action in the matter. The Reciclo mi Barrio [neighborhood recycling] plan, published on Tuesday in Periódico 26, suggests that the company collect “door by door” – in fact collection points were set in several neighborhoods – the waste donated or sold by the population. The official press applauded the initiative that, in addition to the main city, will begin in eight other municipalities.
Although the authorities promise that the initiative, which intends to reduce the amount of waste that ends up in the garbage dumps, “has arrived to stay,” we will have to see how long a plan that depends on the Achilles heel of the regime – fuel – lasts.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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