A third improved landfill is on the way
Los Cabos authorities are considering building a new sanitary landfill to improve waste disposal and comply with Mexican environmental regulations.
Currently, there are two sanitary landfills in Los Cabos, the La Candelaria and Palo Escopeta landfills, which, although not at full capacity, do not meet the criteria to be classified as sanitary landfills; they are merely open-air dumps that do not comply with NOM (Official Mexican Standard) 083 of SEMARNAT (Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources). Mexico’s environment ministry aims to ensure that final disposal sites for solid waste are appropriately regulated. There has been a significant increase in waste generation due to constant population growth over the last five years.
The civil association Clean Up recently reported that in Baja California Sur, the average waste generation is higher than the national average. While the average in Mexico ranges from 1.7 to 1.9 pounds per person per day, BCS reaches 3.7 pounds.
Marisela Montaño, head of The City Council Committee on Public Services, stated that the search for suitable properties for this type of facility is underway. She explained that once the properties are designated, geological and other specialized studies must be conducted to ensure adequate space and conditions are met, thus avoiding the creation of another mere dumping ground which does not comply with Mexican environmental regulations.
Meanwhile, work continues with heavy machinery at the current landfills to address the backlog of waste disposal, which was not compacted properly for years while these sites were under the control of a contractor.
Currently, the Public Services Department is fully responsible for the operations of these facilities.