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Hound Dog

Apr 16, 2010, 5:27 AM

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Garbage Day

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The reason I was up early corresponding with geri and the rest of you this morning is that this is garbage day. Our neighborhood (barrio in San Cristóbal) has a large indigenous population and the indigenous here in Chiapas have an abiding sense of equality along with a lot of stray dogs that dictate that, when we hear the garbage bell at about 6:30AM twice a week, we scurry outside where, when the garbage truck arrives shortly thereafter, we dutifully hand the garbage to the guy riding in the back rather than, as at Lake Chapala, simply leaving it on the curb at an earlier hour, even the previous evening or assign that duty to the gardener if one has one. Home owners and their household members perform this duty rigorously twice a week and, while the garbage guys will pick up the garbage you have left there if you are not there to hand it to them, this is a faux pas on your part and especially unacceptable if you are an extranjero resident too big for your britches. Sometimes this handing-the-garbage-to-the-garbageman ritual takes a bit longer than expected as he may, that day, be collecting empty beer and soft drink cans for which he dutifully searches among garbage bags and collects in a separate bag which may actually be holding his paycheck. That´s Chiapas recycling.

I finally found out what Tonto meant when he called The Lone Ranger "Kimo Sabe". This morning, a new resident, a young woman, asked me in Spanish what the garbage routine was and when she could expect the truck. "Kimo Sabe" I responded and she seemed pleased with that so went back into her house pending arrival of the truck.

In the Jovel valley and surrounding mountainsides, the sense of equality among the indigenous is profound just as is the case in indigenous towns in Oaxaca in our experience. It´s OK to dress in fancy indigenous attire in some villages put only if that is the village custom universally observed. The people of Zinacantan dress in strikingly beautiful clothing , especially the women, while the people of Chamula are more rustically and less colorfully attired. The Chamula disdain the Zinacantecos as "peacocks" and consider them vain.

(This post was edited by Hound Dog on Apr 16, 2010, 5:33 AM)

Papirex

Apr 16, 2010, 11:39 AM

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Re: [Hound Dog] Garbage Day

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I know we are lucky here in Cuernavaca, we have garbage pick-up 3 times a week, on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. We don't need to hand it up to the workers either, just place it in front of the house near the curb. There is a painted sign on all of the trucks reading, “no propinas”.

We did have a problem a few weeks ago when garbage pick-up stopped. After a few days, the reason was finally revealed partly in the local newspapers. The company that has a contract with the city to collect garbage had not established a recycling program at the local landfill as they were contractually obligated to do, so the city did the logical thing, and closed the dump.

There is no requirement to sort our garbage, but we have always separated boxes and paper products, the garbage collectors do appreciate that, I believe they sell the recyclable paper products for their own personal gain. That's OK with me, they deserve something extra.

The city conducted a study to find out if the local landfill could be re-opened with a recycling center in it, or if it would be closed permanently, and garbage would be hauled to a dump in México state; the city said garbage was still being collected and hauled to México while the study was being done.

The problem was exacerbated when the garbage collecting company went on “strike” because the local dump was closed. Now the city was blaming them, and they were blaming the city. All was confusion for a couple of weeks and a lot of garbage was being left, bagged, on sidewalks all over the city, particularly near restaurants and other commercial sites.

The city kept claiming that garbage was still being collected and hauled to México state. Nobody knew where it was being collected or by who though. All was confusion. I was running out of room here to store any more garbage.

One day, I was upstairs in my computer office when I heard a big truck going up our hill. I looked out the window and it was a regular garbage truck, no bell though. They always drive up our hill, turn around, and begin collecting the garbage as they come down the hill. I put all of the garbage I had been storing out for them, and they collected it that day, still no bells.

They seem to be back on their regular schedule of pick-ups, but still no bells. Neighbors seem to be playing catch-up, with lots and lots of garbage being placed in front of the houses on the garbage days.

There has been nothing in the newspapers about how the problem was solved, or where the garbage is being taken, both the city and the garbage company are claiming victory though. Still no bells, I put the garbage out on one of the regular collection days, and it is picked up though.

I now think a person must develop mind reading skills to successfully live in México, it might not be necessary, but it would be helpful.

My next fascinating post will probably be about dogs shedding hair in the house.

Rex
"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved" - Victor Hugo

Rolly

Apr 16, 2010, 12:02 PM

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Re: [Papirex] Garbage Day

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"My next fascinating post will probably be about dogs shedding hair in the house."

One of my 3 dogs is in full molt. He is not allowed in the house. I am glad the other two don't molt.

Rolly Pirate