Awaiting a 'Large Shipment of Containers,' IMM Has Already Defined Neighborhoods for the New Model

The Intendancy of Montevideo is set to significantly alter its waste management system, moving away from ubiquitous street containers towards a model that utilizes household and intra-building receptacles. This initiative, spearheaded by Mario Bergara, began in November last year with a pilot program in a section of the Cerro neighborhood, where street containers were removed and replaced with bins for individual homes.

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This is our plan for the second half of the year. We are waiting for a large shipment of containers to arrive.

For the second half of this year, the plan is to expand this new system throughout the Cerro neighborhood and introduce it in other areas, including Capurro, Prado Norte, Carrasco Sur, Bella Italia, La Teja, and Malvín. Leonardo Herou, Director of Environmental Development, informed El País that they anticipate completing the coverage in the pilot neighborhood and extending the service to Malvín and La Teja. Additionally, the rollout will encompass La Isla, Punta de Rieles, Las Torres, and a section of Buceo. "This is our plan for the second half of the year. We are waiting for a large shipment of containers to arrive," Herou stated, adding that the delivery is expected before the year's end, after which the distribution will commence.

The new system includes both intradomiciliary containers (for individual homes) and intrapredial containers (larger bins for housing cooperatives or complexes), which have already been distributed in several zones. The Intendancy intends to remove more than half of the existing street containers; out of the 11,800 available when Bergara took office, about 1,000 have been removed, with a goal to eliminate 7,000 by the end of the term. Herou described the public container system as "collapsed" and not a viable solution for waste management or public cleanliness.

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They will arrive before the end of the year. As soon as they arrive, we will proceed with all these deliveries and to some more neighborhoods we are working on.

This transition is supported by additional funding approved by the Departmental Board in early June, with $50 million allocated specifically for cleaning services out of a total of $260 million in extra-budgetary funds. However, the new model of household or building-specific containers will not be implemented everywhere. In more central neighborhoods and areas with apartment buildings, the street container system will remain. The Intendancy believes this system will function more efficiently due to more frequent truck collections, as the household bins will not require daily emptying. This approach aims to reduce the time garbage spends on public streets and mitigate issues like scavenging.

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the public container system is 'collapsed' and that it is not 'the solution for resolving waste management, nor public cleaning'.