Tibás Garbage Declared An Emergency
The garbage situation - little or no collection - in Tibás has been going on for some time and with the coming of the "rainy season", fear or diseases like Dengue and a possible epidemic forced the hands of the Consejo de Gobierno and the Ministerio de Salud to declare and emergency.

The Ministro de la Presidencia and the Ministra de Salud, Rodrigo Arias and María Luisa Ávila, respectively, declared a six month emergency in Tibás that will allow the Comisión Nacional de Emergencia (CNE) to move in and effect a collection of all garbage in the Municipality.

Currently, according to the Ministra de Salud (Health Minister) there some 800 tonnes of garbage on Tibás streets that are causing a health problem and possible epidemic if it is not collected. The fear of Dengue and rats spreading all sorts of diseases prompted the government action.

Minister Ávila added that the Municipality of Tibás has only the capacity to collect 35 tonnes daily while the accumulation of garbage is around 70 tonnes daily. The Municipality says it doesn't have the money to repair the five trucks it owns, which are in a very poor state of repair and thus cannot collect the garbage that has been piling up for months.

The CNE has available only ¢21 million colones (us$41.000) to deal with the problem, that is to contract private garbage collections and to clean up the city. Minister Avila vowed that she will find the additional funds needed by the CNE to do a proper job.

"We at the Ministry have been analyzing the problem of garbage collection in Tibás, looking at all the risks involved. We have found that the current situation is a breeding ground for the Dengue fever and other diseases and we cannot play around with the lives of the residents and decided to act", said Avila.

Earlier this residents of Tibás had a small option available to them, when Juan José Castillo, an unemployed man offered to pick up garbage for ¢1.000 colones. Many residents took Castillo up on the offer, who told the media that he was now earning some ¢50.000 colones per day.

Pablo Álvarez, of the Unión Nacional de Gobiernos Locales, said that Castillo can collect the garbage without interference from his group but he will need to obtain a license from the city, adding that residents should pay Castillo for his service and then go to the municipality with the receipt to have the amount reduced on their property taxes.