Panama City removes 251 tonnes of waste from rivers and Pacific coast in August

Panama City removed 251 tonnes of waste in August from the Pacific coast and two rivers, as part of an effort to restore polluted areas and protect coastal ecosystems.

Workers operating through the Río Verde Consortium extracted 202 tonnes from the Pacific shoreline, 17 tonnes from the Matías Hernández River and 32 tonnes from the Abajo River. The cleanup covered several points along the waterways and nearby coastal areas between the Amador Causeway and Costa del Este, where improperly discarded rubbish had accumulated.

Yarelys Gómez, the city’s deputy director for resilience and climate change, said the work followed a simple principle: waste carried by rivers ultimately reaches the sea. “What happens in our rivers ends up in the sea, and that is one of the principles guiding these actions. Each tonne removed represents less pollution that can reach our coasts and another step toward a cleaner and more environmentally responsible district,” she said.

The program goes beyond removing existing waste. The municipality is also running public-awareness campaigns to promote proper disposal and prevent rubbish from entering river channels. The city government described the initiative as unprecedented in the country and said it aims to encourage greater public responsibility for natural resources and Panama’s coastal areas.

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What happens in our rivers ends up in the sea, and that is one of the principles guiding these actions. Each tonne removed represents less pollution that can reach our coasts and another step toward a cleaner and more environmentally responsible district.