Havana fights trash problem ahead of 500th anniversary
318 views · Published 11 November 2018 · 1:32 · Indexed 22 September 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(5 Nov 2018) As Havana's 500-year anniversary approaches, Cuban authorities are racing to address a growing mountain of waste of in the city's trash bins, where regular trash collection services are woefully inadequate. Residents complain trash mountains are formed around overflowing garbage bins in their neighborhoods, attracting rats and other vermin, and left to rot in the tropical sun sometimes for weeks. The root cause appears to be the cash crunch affecting Cuba's entire government, leaving infrastructure crumbling, suppliers unpaid and state-run businesses without the inputs needed to produce basic goods. Cuban officials blame the six-decade U.S. embargo for strangling its economy. The government's critics point to the inefficiency and pervasive small-scale corruption in one of the word's last centrally planned economies. Havana's 2-million residents are serviced by 90 garbage trucks, as many as half are out of service due to lack of spare parts, and sometimes fuel. The Cuban Government is seeking international help with the problem, hoping to attract a foreign partner to form a joint venture for waste disposal. President Miguel Diaz Canel has made finding a solution to the growing problem a priority, recognizing the unsightly piles of garbage could affect tourism in the Old City's cobble-stoned streets, as well as a quality of life issue for residents. Growing tourism and the private sector add to the problem, generating mountains of garbage that end up in a burdened waste disposal system. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/f09d4e43aa011731f97978b21c19730c
