Since October 2019, Enlace Foundation, Fospuca and the City of Baruta have implemented a door-to-door solid waste collection project to eliminate the containers at the entrances of the barrio. In other words, the inhabitants of La Palomera are receiving a service equal to that of the rest of the city, since they too pay for waste collection fees. At the same time, the project rescues a previous waste –collection strategy, remembered by the older inhabitants of the community as “the backpacker”, who used to carry a bag collecting garbage from house to house. This will soon allow the container on Calle Salom to be eliminated and a public plaza to be built in its place as a new entrance to the neighborhood.

Seven collection routes were designed to reach the various sectors of the neighborhood. The ultimate goal is to offer La Palomera inhabitants a better service, equal with that of residents in the rest of the city. Containers and other waste accumulation devices, when located at the entrances of La Palomera, represent a physical and visual barrier that marks a tacit distinction between what is recognized as “city” and what is excluded from it. Eliminating them is an important gesture of integration.

Team: Enlace Foundation, Fospuca and the City of Baruta | Photography: Enlace Foundation