Trash turn-around

Mexico City's waste disposal system is a mess, but the city government has an ambitious plan to recycle, compost and burn for energy 85 percent of its trash. Today, it only reuses about 6 percent of its waste, according to an Associated Press article. Experts say if the city can pull through on its plan, it would rival waste management systems of the U.S. and Europe, and would be a much faster turn-around than elsewhere.

That would call for significant efforts on all fronts. With 12,500 tons of trash produced daily in the megalopolis, or 700 dump trucks per day, that's a lot of rubbish (Mexicans make 3.1 lbs. / 1.4 kilos of trash per day, while North Americans 4.4 lbs / 2.1 kilos).

The plan to build four state-of-the-art processing centers in the next four years is ambitious, but only one has been approved so far. The federal government ordered the city to shut down one of its landfills at overcapacity, and after several delays it is posed to stop operation this month.

The city required residents to begin sorting organic and inorganic waste some 6 years ago, but the infrastructure can't meet the laws. Most garbage trucks lack separate containments, and a lack of recycling facilities makes it hard to avoid mixing banana peels and toothbrushes. The city is also going to start imposing harsher fines for dumping trash on the streets.

In Mexico City, there simply isn't a system for dumping trash. Anyone can toss their rubbish on the street at night and it will be collected the next morning with no consequence. There's really no way to charge for trash disposal, and collectors get tips for picking up trash from wasteful businesses. Perhaps one way to pay for it would be to add "trash taxes" to electricity, water and gas bills and charge extra for packaged stuff. Or just stop collecting and let it pile up in front of people's houses.

People need to develop a recycling culture as well. Mexico City’s streets have separate containers for organic and inorganic trash – but you'd be lucky to even find one (lately I’ve noticed more, however). If not, most just toss their waste on the street and the people with the big brooms will clean it up before sunrise.

My mom has always been very conscious about recycling. We’ve been doing it since I can remember, and it just becomes a habit. She also started composting a few years ago, and I started doing that in earnest when I moved to my new apartment in December. In just a few weeks, my roommates and I have built up a surprising amount of orange peels, egg shells, broccoli stems and papaya skin. (Gotta get dirt and worms).

I also give credit to my workplace. You can’t find disposable plastic cups next to the water cooler anymore and they’ve invested in a bunch of fancy new mugs.

This all reminds me of the opening scenes in Wall-E, one of my favorite movies. Mountains of garbage, some of it stacked in neat cubes, others a heaping mountain, are as high as skyscrapers, and not a living thing remains.