In an effort to restore public order and sanitation in the capital, the Mayor's Office of the Libertador Municipality of Caracas has begun implementing a schedule for depositing waste in containers, with the aim of preventing the accumulation of garbage on sidewalks and public spaces throughout the day. This initiative operates in conjunction with the municipal regulations governing waste collection, which establish fines starting at 30 times the highest official currency value for each violation.
Caracas authorities have designed a schedule for disposing of waste in containers. This strategy is aimed especially at the city's 21 main avenues, where pedestrian and vehicular traffic is constant. Residents and businesses must adjust their routines to two specific time blocks: in the morning, from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m., and in the afternoon, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Outside of these times, placing waste in the containers is prohibited.
“An organized community does not create makeshift dumps,” the city council stated on its social media channels as part of the campaign accompanying this measure. The mayor's office is promoting adherence to collection schedules to prevent waste from being left exposed to animals or the elements, which creates an unsightly appearance of the city.
Monitoring
To ensure compliance with the initiative, the Caracas Inteligente Foundation, attached to the mayor's office, implemented a surveillance system. In addition to the presence of environmental inspectors on the streets, advanced monitoring is now in place using a closed-circuit television system with security cameras operating in real time.
Currently, 21 strategic avenues in the capital are monitored from an observation center that allows the identification of people or vehicles that throw debris, garbage and scrap metal into the containers outside of the established hours.
Once the infraction is detected through the cameras, the peace quadrants of the Bolivarian National Police Corps and the Caracas Police act immediately to apply the corresponding sanction.
Ordinance
The measure operates in compliance with the provisions of the Ordinance on Citizen Coexistence, Civic Responsibility, and Community Peace Justice, which regulates the preservation of public spaces by promoting general duties for coexistence, civic responsibility, and peace. Article 13 stipulates the prohibition of throwing “waste in the street, public or private spaces, or inside public transportation vehicles.”
Article 18 considers it an act that threatens physical integrity or public or private property to place, in unsuitable or unauthorized places, rubble, chemical waste, scrap metal, flammable substances, biological waste and in general, any object that may cause damage to the physical integrity of people, the environment or the deterioration of public or private property.
This regulation, inspired by the principle of social co-responsibility, also penalizes acts contrary to the cleanliness of public spaces in article 29. Among these actions, it encourages the use of the containers provided in public areas for garbage collection; likewise, it prohibits throwing solid waste and debris in unauthorized places, discarding bags of waste outside of containers, or disposing of dead animals along with household waste, thus violating the corresponding health regulations.
Sanctions
These attitudes may be subject to administrative sanctions ranging from fines equivalent to 30 times the exchange rate of the highest value currency set by the Central Bank of Venezuela, calculated in euros or its equivalent in bolivars.
In case of recidivism or non-payment, offenders could be forced to perform one of the community services established in the ordinance or receive environmental awareness talks.
Citizen awareness. In article four, the ordinance specifies the competent authorities for handling complaints related to actions contrary to municipal regulations.
In that sense, citizens are empowered to report any irregularity to the Caracas Police, the Community Police Service of the Cpnb, the Municipal Coexistence Office, among others.
In addition, the regulations establish alternative conflict resolution methods in paragraph 56. Those who face conflicts with neighbors or third parties for throwing garbage in common areas, in front of family homes, among other public spaces, can request the intervention of local authorities or community mediation bodies, in order to establish dialogues and agreements that guarantee mutual respect.
In detail
- Schedule. The schedule consists of a two-block scheme: in the morning, from 6 am to 7 am, and in the afternoon, from 5 pm to 6 pm.
- Strategy. It is aimed at the 21 main avenues of the city.
- Contrary acts. The Ordinance on Citizen Coexistence, Civic Responsibility and Community Peace Justice of the Libertador Municipality of Caracas also establishes fines for acts such as abandoning scrap metal and other similar objects on public roads; transporting debris in unsuitable means of transport; throwing garbage, fuel or other objects into the sewer or water supply networks; improvising and installing, without authorization, containers or other types of receptacles, intended for the disposal of solid waste.
- Civic awareness. Article 11 of the Ordinance defines it as the set of principles, norms and values that govern the individuals of a community, generating a sense of belonging, promoting progress, facilitating peaceful coexistence, and fostering respect.
- Community service. According to article 42, this refers to the cleaning, painting or restoration of schools, hospitals, health centers, parks, squares, among other places.
