Havana residents police their streets as garbage crisis worsens

Residents at San Martín and Escobar in Central Havana posted warning signs and hired local guards after months of dumped waste turned the corner into a makeshift checkpoint, with the signs warning of a 50,000-peso fine for anyone caught dumping there. The latest confrontation came when neighbors physically stopped a woman who tried to leave an old pot at the cleaned-up corner.

One of the largest dumps in the area has grown to fill an entire block and rise several feet high in places, sending foul smells, insects, and tense arguments into nearby streets.

The collection network has been strained by fuel shortages. Cubadebate counted only 44 of Havana’s 106 garbage trucks as operational in February, leaving trash to pile up on corners, smell of rotten food, and draw flies. By early June, residents across the capital called the situation completely unsanitary, and one woman near Hermanos Ameijeiras hospital said the flies, rats, and filth had become overwhelming. Some residents began burning waste in the streets, even as health officials warned about potentially toxic smoke.

Improper management of urban solid waste remains a major environmental challenge in Cuba. The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment puts municipal services at 57% of urban refuse. In Luyanó in 2024, residents blocked streets with trash and burned dumps after weeks without reliable collection because of missing machinery, inputs, fuel, and human resources.