The dumpsters will not keep the streets cleaner. Only people can do that. And that will happen when they are educated about recycling. My neighbors don't get it. We don't have any dumpsters on our block or even in the area. People leave garbage on the sidewalk at all hours of the day when the garbage trucks pass by at 10:00pm. No one is supposed to put garbage bags on the street until after 8:00pm. I take mine out after 9:00pm so the bags don't get ripped by those who regularly check garbage and leave the sidewalks a mess. There are many who still don't know that garbage isn't collected on Saturday. Portenos are in the habit of putting out their trash every day, so collecting it for several days and separating food waste from recyclables is not an easy change for them. The new bags sold at COTO, DISCO and others are in two colors for a reason: brown for food waste and green for recyclable materials. When I read that every piece of plastic ever made still exists on the planet, I knew I had to do something to reduce what I throw out for garbage collection. The city government asked people to separate recyclables years ago, but no one does it. It's going to be a long time before people will get the idea and change. It has to start by educating children so they can help their parents. I save food waste until the brown bag is completely full. The new bags are made for that purpose. I save all packaging in a green bag and only take it out when it's full and try to find a cartonero who will accept it. The cartoneros got the recycling program started more than ten years ago before the city had any plan, and they're losing their jobs. Today they are running out of landfills for all the garbage collected in the city. This is a serious problem. As the brochure I saved from years ago says: Together for a clean city. A cleaner city is in your hands. I've seen more improvements in the city and particularly in my own neighborhood since Macri has been mayor. His administration is getting things done to improve the quality of life. I noticed today that the street at the corner of my block is being paved with asphalt for the first time. There are new sidewalks around the block so people can walk safely. I sent a photo of a broken drain cover next to a cracked sidewalk to the city. In less than two weeks it was repaired. I passed it today to see the new sidewalk blocks were cemented in place and roped off until dry. This mayor is getting things done.
