Region, Nosara, Police News

Ostional Residents Take Trash to Nosara Dump Due to Lack of Municipal Service

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Residents of Ostional continue to take their garbage to the Nosara dump on a monthly basis, as the Municipality of Santa Cruz does not offer trash collection services to the community.

Juan Arrieta, a community resident who is in charge of trash collection in Ostional, explained that they collect garbage on Wednesdays in a private truck, which passes through downtown and the community’s main streets picking up trash.

According to Arrieta, they charge ¢500 ($0.92) per bag to each resident in order to cover the ¢15,000 ($27.70) that the company Microempresa para el Saneamiento (MICROSAN) charges. MICROSAN has managed the Nosara dump for more than a decade.

In addition, the Ostional Development Association (ADIO – Asociacion de Desarrollo Integral de Ostional) pays ¢15,000 to cover freight charges for the truck that takes the trash to the dump.

Arrieta also indicated that they are supported by the Ostional Local Guide Association (Asociacion de Guias Locales de Ostional), who are in charge of gathering trash stored in barrels.

Arrieta reported that the truck completes its circuit once or twice every month and that it carries approximately 100 bags of garbage to MICROSAN each trip.

As such, Arnulfo Espinoza, MICROSAN’s administrator, explained that for years they have received Ostional’s garbage, although he recognized that the Municipality of Santa Cruz has territorial jurisdiction for the community.

“We receive their trash but it’s their obligation to go to Santa Cruz to dump it,” said Espinoza.

For his part, Edwin Angulo Cerdas, in charge of the collection department for the Municipality of Santa Cruz, explained that the reason they do not offer service in Ostional and other neighboring communities is that long distances separate the area from the canton’s capital.

Ostional and Santa Cruz are separated by a distance of approximately 60 kilometers.

However, Angulo said that the municipality is already planning to send garbage collection trucks to the communities of Lagarto, Marbella, Ostional, San Juanillo and Venado during the first months of 2015.

“We already have plans and cost projections to enter all of those communities,” said Angulo.

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