Buenos Aires Garbage Crisis: Community Speaks Out
- EL PAREDÓN, Argentina — Austerity measures in Argentina have led to the dismantling of local cleaning cooperatives, leaving residents of El paredón and similar communities struggling wiht mounting...
- Emilia Torres,a resident of El Paredón,now witnesses garbage piling up in her neighborhood after the Potenciar Trabajo program,which subsidized local cleanups,was discontinued.
- “It makes me very upset,” Torres said, lamenting the deterioration of her community's habitat.
Argentina Waste Management Cuts Hit Poor Communities Hard
EL PAREDÓN, Argentina — Austerity measures in Argentina have led to the dismantling of local cleaning cooperatives, leaving residents of El paredón and similar communities struggling wiht mounting garbage and increased health risks. The changes, part of a broader shift in social programs, have eliminated vital resources for Argentina waste management in vulnerable areas.
Emilia Torres,a resident of El Paredón,now witnesses garbage piling up in her neighborhood after the Potenciar Trabajo program,which subsidized local cleanups,was discontinued. The program had employed residents to address the waste collection deficiency common in barrios populares, unofficial communities where garbage accumulation is a meaningful problem. A 2024 TECHO report indicated that over a third of these communities face micro garbage dumps, with 14% having larger dumps nearby.
“It makes me very upset,” Torres said, lamenting the deterioration of her community’s habitat.
The Ministry of Human Capital, responsible for funding social programs, stated that Potenciar Trabajo failed to transition participants into permanent employment, with only 1.3% securing lasting jobs.The program has been replaced by Volver al Trabajo, focusing on training and job search services, and acompañamiento Social, aimed at older individuals and mothers, offering workshops and resources.
Participants in Potenciar Trabajo received payments equivalent to half the minimum wage, which kept pace with inflation until December 2023. though, payments for the new programs have not been adjusted despite Argentina’s high inflation rate.
Walter Córdoba, from the Unión de Trabajadores y Trabajadoras de la Economía Popular, disputes the government’s assessment, arguing that the ministry is ignoring the jobs lost within the cooperatives.
Rocío Rojas, a local store owner, has had to raise her floor due to garbage-clogged drains causing flooding. “We don’t have a place to dump our garbage,” Rojas said, noting that neighbors frequently enough discard waste near her store.
Residents also worry about potential flooding spreading chemical pollutants. A 2019 study by the Autoridad de Cuenca Matanza Riachuelo found high levels of chromium and led in the soil, with some residents showing elevated lead levels in their blood. Jorge Herkovits, an environmental health professor, warns that even small trash piles can cause contamination and disease.
While the Autoridad de cuenca Matanza Riachuelo has documented health issues like diarrhea and skin conditions in El Paredón, it has not directly linked them to environmental factors. Eva “Pamela” Duarte, a neighborhood improvement group representative, believes further investigation is necessary.
Duarte notes that the absence of street cleaners has changed the community’s atmosphere. the Municipality of Lomas de Zamora launched Comunidad Lomas Limpia to address waste collection, but residents say it’s insufficient. Yesica villafañe,a local resident,says the area was cleaner when the cooperatives operated daily.