The director of the Panama Urban and Domestic Cleaning Authority (AAUD), Ovil Moreno, stated that the waste collection crisis in the San Miguelito district is 99.9% under control. After collecting the excess garbage, they are now in the process of collecting the daily production. Moreno said he cannot expose the physical integrity of his staff, and also denounced that there are cars parked in the streets that prevent garbage trucks from passing. Moreno described the situation found as "impressive", as there was an excess of waste that had been lying in the streets of the district for months. He acknowledged that the situation could have been worse, however, thank God, there was no public health problem. Regarding waste collection in other sectors, Moreno indicated that in Santa Ana there are problems between gangs and cases have been registered where when personnel are cleaning, shootings begin. As for waste collection in La Chorrera, Moreno stated that due to lack of budget they cannot intervene throughout the country. He also revealed that the Cleaning Authority has not participated in any of the transition meetings with the new companies that will be in charge of collecting waste. The director of the AAUD estimated that the cost of this intervention ranges between 650,000 and 700,000 dollars. He reported that the nine representatives of the corregimiento are helping with personnel to sweep the garbage that remains in the streets after collection. He expressed that after January 19 when they finish their work, he hopes San Miguelito will remain clean. The official detailed that they managed to intervene with a large amount of equipment, excavators, dump trucks in more than 250 critical points and identified more than 40 points where there were holes with garbage. "That is an issue that the mayor's office is handling with the three companies. On the fifth day of the intervention, the AAUD had collected 1,545.58 tons of waste, equivalent to 3,400,276 pounds. "They have not asked us for any technical opinion," he expressed in the Telemetro Reporta newscast.
San Miguelito Garbage Crisis Under Control
The AAUD director announced the waste collection crisis in San Miguelito is 99.9% resolved. After clearing the backlog, daily collection has begun. He cited parked cars as an obstruction and mentioned ongoing gang-related issues in other areas like Santa Ana.
