Guatemala is not the only country with challenges in the garbage separationIn fact, several countries in Central America have also tried to establish their own regulations since previous years, but face similar obstacles.
Paper initiatives for waste management exist, but the lack of infrastructureof Clear regulations promoted by municipalities and of Citizen ConsciousnessThey have hindered their effective implementation in the region.
Guatemala would try to further classify garbage since February 11, 2025, but The measure was not fulfilledand a week later the capital was paralyzed by a massive protest for groups of collectors and recycling.
However, it is not a unique resistance. The situation is also reflected in other nations of the region. How advanced are they compared to Guatemala?
El Salvador: on progress, but without mandatory
In El Salvador the Integral Waste Management Law and Recycling Promotion seeks to promote waste separation, but still It has not been implemented in a mandatory way.
Most municipalities depend on Open sky landfills, And although there is recycling efforts, These are mostly carried out by private initiatives and non -governmental organizations.
Salvadorans believe that garbage should be classified in homes, but Only the third part does it, According to the most recent survey of August 2024.
The main results showed that 33.8% of the interviewees replied that “yes, always” separate the garbage that is generated in their home, between organic and non -organic waste. Another 30.4% of the sample replied that “sometimes”, and the 35.5% replied that he never does.
Although neither the separation of garbage, nor recycling, are a generalized practice, more than half claimed to be aware that plastic garbage is main source of contamination of bodies of water, such as rivers, lakes and oceans.
Even 82.2% said that “there are more floods” than before in their communities, associated with the accumulation of garbage in tragant.
Honduras: without effective waste separation
Honduras faces similar problems from Guatemala and El Salvador.
Despite some campaigns to promote recycling, garbage separation It is not a generalized process.
While they have Regulation for the integral management of solid waste since 2011this It does not demand either To citizens the forced separation of waste.
The legal framework for waste management in Honduras is dispersed in several institutions and, in addition to being basic, specific or unified policies and strategies are absent, which hinders coordination between the sector and finally, with neighbors.
This is described by a 2016 diagnosis on the management process that worked on the section of United Nations Environment along with other local entities. In this it is also highlighted that the infrastructure for its management remains limited.
Unlike Guatemala, Honduras does not have a national policy For waste management, what remains force to their other legal instruments.
In 2014, a guide aimed at municipalities was created to have a higher level in decision -making and be responsible for promoting the methodology of the ‘3R’s’ (reduce, reuse and recycle). However, this culture of recycling It still does not permeate in the communities.
In general, studies reveal that although there are no periodic data on how much Honduran population separates the garbage that produces from their homes, other indicators reflect the weak or the little that solid waste is managed. One of these indicators is the final destination of the collection.
In Honduras, for example, according to data from municipalities evaluated in 2018, only 8.4% of the population had access to sanitary landfills, another 38.14% in controlled dumps and the highest data, is that in 49% its garbage reaches Open Sky Dools.
It is similar to Guatemala, where the most used final disposition is the samebecause the garbage is thrown without sanitary treatment.
According to the UN (2018), this technique is harmful globally, since these landfills They generate greenhouse gases due to the decomposition of organic matter and represent a combustion risk.
Another key indicator in urban areas is the existence of clandestine dumps and in rural areas, which is customary Burn or bury the garbageso the estimates of the real generation of waste could be greater.
Nicaragua: efforts without impact nationwide
In Nicaragua, waste separation has been promoted by some non -governmental municipalities and organizations, but There is no mandatory national system.
Despite initiatives to reduce plastic waste, the country continues to depend largely on open landfills and landfills without efficient recyclable waste management.
Waste collection is done in 120 of the 153 municipalities through trucks operated by municipal authorities.
However, practices such as garbage burial by 3.7% of families, especially in rural areas, and limited use of composting (0.5% nationwide) indicate a separation of poor 2019 report.
Costa Rica: Advance in conscientization
Costa Rica is the Central American country that had more forecast of recycling and garbage separation. In 1995 he approved the Integral Solid Waste Management Law.
His process has been more gradual, considering that he has more time to have focused on the subject, establishing collection centers and recycling plants.
However, although it has regulations that demand the classification of waste in different containers and promotes recycling through municipal programs, The habit of separation is still absent.
A probe At the end of 2024 prepared by the National University (UNA) in support of Ministry of Environment, Health and Energy of the countryshows that similar to Guatemala, there is resistance to classification and the unique is that the reasons are quite similar.
According to data, a 57% of respondents does not separate solid waste as a daily task by Lack of knowledge or time.
In contrast, the survey allowed us to understand that people are aware of the importance of the issue with 95% of respondents who considered that It was important to deliver the trash separate and prepared to facilitate their recycling.
While a 15% said they did not do it because it is a task at collection pointsand a 10% said they didn’t do it because “everything ends up.”
Panama: current regulations, but with application difficulties
Panama is also another of the countries that has a regulation that asks to separate waste since 2018, but its application has been unequal.
Although in the capital and in some communities there are recycling programs, infrastructure remains insufficient and, again, citizen awareness is a challenge.
Like the rest of the countries, both in urban areas and in rural contexts, waste management falls on municipalities.
A assessment In Tonosí, a municipality of Panama that was taken as a reference in 2021, marks the same about the limited classification, infrastructure and advanced technology.
However, it is highlighted that there are efforts for communal meetings and neighbors who pay for the waste collection service that, in the best case, are taken to the landfills, and in the worst, they burn, or are arranged clandestinely in rivers and coasts.
Guatemala: same challenges as much of the region
In Guatemala, the Law for the Integral Management of Solid Waste and Waste established in 2021 the separation of garbage, but is still braking.
The absence of a differentiated collection system from homes, collectors and final disposal in landfills, have prevented the measure from becoming a generalized practice.
The communes represented in the National Association of Municipalities (ANAM) they reject modify the current regulation and, on the contrary, seek to replace it with a new one, despite the fact that the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN) It maintains its position that the current regulation is still firm.
On February 27, 2025, the sectors have a meeting scheduled to begin discussing their differences on the regulations.
This comparison between countries shows that although Guatemala faces difficulties in waste separation, it is not an isolated case in Central America.
Although they have advanced in environmental regulations, they still fail to implement them in part, according to the available reports and data, due to the lack of prominence of the municipalities and the limited political force to effectively promote them.
Difficulties in waste management at regional level also fall on the lack of infrastructure, financial resources and citizen participation in recycling.
Also read: How to classify garbage in Guatemala: Visual guide to do it correctly