Holbox, Q.R. — UPDATED: Inspectors of the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa) have proceeded to shut the solid waste transfer site of Holbox as part of the investigation into the alleged burial of garbage by the City of Lázaro Cárdenas.
The closure of the garbage site means the island no longer has a place to dispose of its waste. In protest, some have tossed their garbage in the central square while others have made way through the closure seal to enter the dump and leave the garbage themselves.
The problem arose after allegations of the garbage that was there had been buried in nearby mangrove and not properly disposed of as previously announced.
At the end of last year, the municipal government announced, with aerial photos, that all garbage on the site, which had been a problem for years, had been removed. However, a complaint was brought before the State Congress that the garbage had actually been buried in a mangrove area.
From that complaint, Profepa inspectors shut the island’s garbage dump while they investigate the allegations. An investigative request into the conditions of the site has also been made by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
UPDATE: On Friday, two days after the closure of the Holbox landfill, inspectors from Profepa reached an agreement with the Lázaro Cárdenas City Council to allow the deposit of garbage at the island’s solid waste transfer site.
For now, Profepa is allowing passage through a lateral access so as not to break the closure seal in order to continue with the collection service.
