newspeak

Mexico City is facing another crisis, besides the water, food, pollution, crime, governance, etc. It has to do with garbage, which every city is now or will face. The interesting point about the article I cite lies in the last paragraphs, where the issue of getting rid of the trash includes the very difficult one, Who owns the trash before the city takes it?

In 2009, the Mexican federal government suspended plans for building Centros Integrales de Reciclado y Energía (CIRE – Integral Waste-to-Energy Plants) because of heated opposition from local residents in the locations chosen. The CIREs are intended to make use of organic waste to produce compost, recycle inorganic materials and generate electricity.The 2003 Federal Waste Law regulates waste management and procedures for opening and closing waste dumps, but does not clarify who owns the garbage – the source producer, the collector or the waste dump manager? – until such time as it reaches the hands of the municipal or federal authorities, which complicates the use of garbage for profit.\

via The waste mountain engulfing Mexico City | Environment | guardian.co.uk.