Community Meets with Director of Garbage and Waste Management

Today members of the community group Libre de Basura and Marjorie Calipoliti of the Coronado Residential Association met with with Sra. Calderon, the director of Garbage and Waste Management for the Chame district. Their goal was to find ways that they could support each other. 

The group was happy to see the Municipality of Chame working hard to try and change the garbage situation in this district with initiatives like street and beach cleanups, improving maintenance of public areas, creating recycling centers and providing education about proper waste disposal. 

One of the interesting pieces of information that residents should be aware of is that fines can be issued for burning of vegetation and/or garbage, and for dumping garbage. If you see someone dumping or burning garbage document it with a photo and report the incident your municipality.

Burning has been an hot topic country wide as Panama recovers from a severe El Niño. Government agencies, including the Ministry of Environment, Agricultural Development and the National Civil Protection System (Sinaproc) have been working together to carry out a Campaign for Prevention and Fire Control, aiming at reducing risk of fires during dry season.

In effort to curb burning of land or trash, which is bad for the environment and dangerous to neighborhoods, fines of up to two thousand dollars or imprisonment of two to three years could be issued to those who violate the new rules. According to the environmental agency patrols are being carried out at the national level to protected areas of environmental interest. 

The National Commission for the Prevention, Control and Management of Forest Fires (CONPRECMAIF) has implemented an educational campaign on "Fire Management in Panama” which seeks to raise awareness about environmental and health damage caused burning. The campaign’s motto is "Less fire, more oxygen for a future without burning in Panama".