A few days ago, around 200 people, including environmental promoters, urban collectors, and members of recycling cooperatives, carried out a large differentiated collection day of materials such as cardboard, plastic, aluminum cans, and glass. They also cleaned the streets and public spaces in the downtown area of the city of Corrientes.
This solidarity action was coordinated by the “Cooperativa Corrientes Recicla” as part of an environmental protection initiative and fight against urban pollution. At the same time, they sought to make the work of these organizations visible and demonstrate the potential of environmental workers, former collectors who now operate with carts, and people who used to live in open-air dumps and are now environmental promoters and part of recycling cooperatives.
After this solidarity action, the participants expressed the need for the National, Provincial, and Municipal governments to recognize their work and collaborate with the private sector to create growth and employment opportunities through their social enterprises. “We want our work potential to be recognized and that, together with the private sector, we can generate employment and new opportunities,” highlighted Daiana Acosta from the “Cooperativa Corrientes Recicla”.
Furthermore, the activist pointed out that members of the cooperative and urban collectors are properly trained as environmental promoters and have the necessary resources, such as machinery, logistics, and personnel, to offer their services to supermarkets, pharmacies, large stores, public and private institutions, or for large waste generators to deliver materials directly to urban collectors for recycling.
Cleaning day in Corrientes. Photo: El Litoral.[/caption>
Cleaning of a ditch that didn’t last 48 hours
Many municipalities and localities in the country are responsible for cleaning their streets, making it a true state policy. This is the case of the Municipality of Rafaela, Santa Fe, which carried out a four-day operation cleaning the ditch in the Zazpem neighborhood, and 48 hours later it was back to its previous state.
For this cleaning operation, which involved a large number of personnel, heavy machinery, and trucks, the municipality invested around 25 million pesos. For the authorities, this amount seemed cheap compared to the cost of diseases prevented, as well as potential floods, especially during rainy seasons, which are usually intense and short periods of time.
However, a group of neighbors, while the municipality was cleaning, continued to litter, causing the place to be almost as dirty as before within 48 hours.
Do you already know our YouTube channel? Subscribe!
