1.200 Used Tires Collected From the Tárcoles River
The Rio Tárcoles is well known to tourists for its crocodiles. But the river is also home to another creature, one that is hard to spot and can be fatal, the mosquito carrying the Dengue virus. And that is due to the large number of used tires that are commonly thrown into the river.

On Saturday, the Ministerio de Salud (health ministry, the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (social security), the Firestone company and the Club Punta Leona collected more than 1.200 used tires from the river, according to the Salud minister, María Luisa Ávila.

"We hope to do this three or four times a year. It is not only to eliminate Dengue but also to stimulate environmental conservation", said the minister>

Saturday's work is control the spread of Dengue on the Tárcoles community.

Manrique Bonilla, member of the Bandera Azul Ecológica explained that in the preliminary inspection of the river bank they found a great quantity of discarded tires which quickly convert as breeding ground for the Aedes Aegypti mosquito that spreads the Dengue virus.

Bandera Azul organized the clean up of the river where up to 30 people were involved.