Unpleasant odours that compel residents to keep windows shut and a lack of cleanliness on the streets is the primary grievance voiced by the inhabitants of Garachico. Over recent days, they have found themselves affected by the build-up of rubbish in the bins across various neighbourhoods, with noone attending to it.
“We are at a loss as to where to turn for a resolution,” sighs a resident from Genovés, who points out that their locality has been without this essential service for five days, which it shares with the adjacent municipality of El Tanque.
Mayor José Heriberto González explains that the issue stems from the cessation of services by the Garachico-El Tanque Commonwealth due to a “series of reasons”, leaving the situation precarious for the last four days and adversely affecting the local residents.
“Numerous efforts have been made to address this dilemma, and we will urgently delegate the collection of waste within the municipality to the public firm Gesplan for a period of six months,” stated the mayor. However, this arrangement is set to commence in approximately 15 days. In the interim, the council is “coordinating with a company to handle the organic waste collection,” assuring that the majority of bins have been cleared of rubbish. “From this point forward, we will resume our routine collections once everything has been normalised,” he added.
González also noted that for many years, Isla Baja has been attempting to establish a regional waste collection service via the Consortium, but due to various legal hurdles, this goal has yet to be realised. He remains hopeful that it will come to fruition as it would enhance efficiency and lower costs.
