The fleet of Basura Cero bin trucks on display in Plaza Bolivar, but not on the streets
Heavy rain, poor road conditions cause problems for Bogota’s rubbish collectors, creating potential health risk
Seven Bogota districts suffered problems with rubbish pick-ups this month, raising questions as to whether the city is going to face a collection crisis similar to the one seen in December 2012.
Four collection companies had difficulties during the morning of July 22, as 30 of the collection routes had serious hold-ups due to rain and bad road conditions, which left trash bags piled up on in seven districts: Chapinero, Fontibon, Suba, Ciudad Bolivar, Usaquen and Martyrs.
In total, between 800 and 1,000 tons of waste were not collected in Bogota last week.
Bogota Mayor Gustavo Petro was quick to assure the public that the operation is now in order.
“Because of last night’s rains, delays occurred in the unloading of trucks at the landfill. At this time the operation is normal,” he tweeted.
During the Christmas period of December 2012, piles of rubbish accumulated in the streets of Bogota for days after a new rubbish collection scheme was put in place, leading many to wonder whether Petro was fit for office.
Soon after, Inspector General Alejandro Ordoñez launched a campaign to dismiss Petro, leading to a nine-month saga that threw governance of the city into chaos.
