26.03.2024
Guatemala’s Rivers of Garbage
The pollution in Guatemala's Las Vacas River is extremely severe, which environmentalists say is resposible for 2% of all plastic emissions that reach the world's oceans. It is also known for its high percentage of contamination has become a health risk, a metal collector has said. According to data from Las Vacas Hydroelectric, the Las Vacas river is made up of about 60% of Guatemala City's sewage and rubbish, which prevents the river's water from flowing normally and also prevents aquatic life. Although various organisations are working to prevent waste from reaching the sea, their efforts have been overwhelmed by the amount of rubbish. There is little control over the collection and disposal of garbage, and even less political will to change that. Of the country’s 340 municipalities, official says, only 189 have trash processing facilities—and only 60 percent of those are actually functioning. The majority of the garbage ends up in clandestine dumps, like the one in Chinautla. The Guatemalan Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources estimates that there are nearly 10,000 clandestine dumps across the country.
Credit: ALJAZEERA
Credit: ALJAZEERA
Poverty deprives people of adequate education, health care and of life's most basic necessities- safe living conditions (including clean air and clean drinking water) and an adequate food supply. The developed (industrialized) countries today account for roughly 20 percent of the world's population but control about 80 percent of the world's wealth.
Poverty and pollution seem to operate in a vicious cycle that, so far, has been hard to break. Even in the developed nations, the gap between the rich and the poor is evident in their respective social and environmental conditions.
Poverty and pollution seem to operate in a vicious cycle that, so far, has been hard to break. Even in the developed nations, the gap between the rich and the poor is evident in their respective social and environmental conditions.
