El Vedado: Operation Garbage begins with 5 of the 30 planned tricycles

Havana/It was a few minutes after 7 in the morning when on 11th Street, in Havana’s Vedado, a small bag of garbage was waiting alone under a palm tree for the brand new garbage service. The Rampeño. The previous hours had been rich in information. The delegate of the popular council Rampa, the hyperactive Pedro Garcéshad disseminated a good amount of information on social networks about the waste collection areas, announced this Tuesday in the official press.

“Tomorrow, July 1, we will begin the new solid waste collection project in these places,” highlighted a message with the list of streets. The text specified that the homes would be passed door to door and requested that, once the collection had been carried out, it was “strictly prohibited” to throw garbage. In addition, it was warned that, due to this move to the home, the tanks would be removed the day before.

This morning, the containers were still in place, full of waste, to begin a day that, although chaotic, seemed better than nothing. “Don’t carry the bag there, take the bags and bring them to the tricycle,” skillfully warned the driver of the electric vehicle, from the Chinese-Cuban company Vedca, which gave the starting signal. His co-worker intended to carry the bag to each door, without realizing that the weight would increase minute by minute.

The bags gradually multiplied along the streets, delighting the occasional diver who went out to search in case there was anything salvageable in them. Participation in this first collection has been discreet, although due to the size of the tricycle it was better to hope that this was the case.

“We don’t know where it’s going yet, we’ve just started and we’re waiting for the delegate to say something,” the garbage man – dressed in red pants, a cap, and gloves – told a local resident. The improvisation was evident, since not even the workers themselves know where to go, but slightly excited, they wished the team that the project would work well.

This Tuesday’s message urged “the rampeños residing in the aforementioned areas to exercise discipline and vigilance. Let us demonstrate from this little piece of land that it is possible to have a healthy environment. The cleanliness of your block, my greatest pride!”, he concluded.

But at 19th and O, one of the collection areas, trash in and outside the tanks was also visible, making it clear that the initiative will need, at the very least, some time to settle.

The El Rampeño local development project will be powered by 30 electric vehicles sent by the Government, of which there are only five available for now. The solinera that will accompany it, where tricycles, other private means of transportation and private devices will be loaded, is still in full construction, thanks in part to funds from the 1% municipal tax on state and private companies. But, in addition, you must contribute 100 pesos per home, as has been learned in the last few hours, payable in cash or by QR code.

The main payments, according to Garcés, will not come from individuals, but from entities of all types. “If your state company or private business is located in this area, you can also consult through 56275023 for the mandatory rehiring (of the one who owns it) or the hiring for the one who has not done it initially. However, next week, from 8 am to 12 am in the management position of the popular council (17 and K) the hiring or rehiring can be made effective,” indicated the Canal Gente de Barrio, which also detailed a doubt that was left yesterday. open.

There will be inspectors “permanently” to apply “severe measures to violators”, that is, to those who take out the garbage at the wrong time. In addition, it is known that “there may even be criminal investigation for the crime of disobedience or the spread of an epidemic.” But there is no one to answer for those tanks that should not be there today and overflow with garbage like every day.