The Ministry of Environment seeks to amend the Government Agreement 164-2021, regulation for the integral management of common solid waste and waste, so that municipalities have the option to return, temporarily, to the primary classification of garbage – in organic and inorganic – while managing to travel to the classification into three categories.
On February 11, the regulations were valid for the population to separate garbage into three categories: organic, recyclable and not recyclable. But the pressure exerted by the protests on February 18, by collectors and recycling that operate in the landfill of the 3rd capital zone, Keeps the implementation of the regulations in the metropolitan area in waiting.
The blockades in the capital led to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN) and the Municipality of Guatemala agreed to carry out a dialogue table with both sectors to review advances and compliance with the agreements reached. Since February 26, meetings occur every Wednesday.
Edwin Castellanos, Deputy Minister of Environment, points out that this table evaluates the options that will be presented to the municipalities so that, in a reasonable time, Make the transition from the waste classification into two groups to three. This will depend on the application and justification that each one, since the different municipalities have their own conditions in the waste and waste management chain.
The regulation for the integral management of common solid waste and waste is in force since 2021, and contemplated a first stage of classification of waste in organic and inorganic. As of February 11, 2025, it extended to a secondary separation in organic, recyclable and non -recyclable, a measure that confronted collectors, recyclers and municipalities with the MARN and It keeps the discussion about its implementation open.
Dialogue tables
Since February 26, every Wednesday it is held, in the Municipality of Guatemala, a dialogue table to address the implementation of the regulation and the separation of solid waste in the municipality.
After a month, sectors that work on the landfill in zone 3 and that are affected by the classification of garbage in organic, recyclable and non -recyclable indicate that Consensus are not yet achieved.
A source close to the negotiation indicates that this week the collectors and recycling presented to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN) a list of amendments and articles that ask are repealed, because there are no conditions to comply with the regulations.
It is mentioned, for example, article 18, literal c), which establishes that the waste must be separated into spaces divided into cameras within the vehicles, and speaks of a collection per day of the different garbage groups.
On the other hand, article 19, literal a), mentions that in the spaces where the collection trucks are cleaned there must be a drainage system that captures the wastewater generated in the process, so that they are treated or directed to the municipal sewerage.
At the discretion of the interviewee, Collectors do not have the ability to comply with the provisions of both subsections, So they ask those points to be annulled from the regulation.
The same goes for article 8, which sends collectors and recycling to vaccinate against hepatitis B, tetanus and rage. However, the Vaccination Law, approved in 2024, establishes that Immunization is voluntary, Therefore, they ask to modify this measure.
The MARN received the list of requests and indicated that the legal team will analyze them to establish whether the points can be repealed or modified, according to the source.
“The law was made behind a desk, without knowing the reality of those who dedicate ourselves to this work,” he adds and considers that the authorities are prolonging The discussion of the regulation so that the issue is diluted in the midst of the country’s political situation.
Representatives of the basic collectors and recycling who operate in the sanitary landfill in zone 3, the Municipality of Guatemala, the Marn, the Attorney General’s Office and the Commonwealth of the South.
According to the capital commune, the meeting that was held this March 26 “advanced positively”, but the parties involved in the discussion agreed that they will give official information until the dialogue process is completed.
The MARN indicates that the dialogue table is led by the Municipality of Guatemala. In this space, the collectors and base recycler have had an active participation, providing supplies to move towards agreements that respond to their demands.
He adds that one of the main discussion points has been the possible reform of the Government Agreement 164-2021, and that, from the portfolio, the corresponding technical analysis has been carried out and the commitment to contribute to the construction of viable and responsible proposals within the current legal framework has been maintained.
It is expected to specify results of the dialogue table next May.
It is interested: it fails to classify waste on the first day of implementation
What will happen to recyclers?
According to Castellanos, base recyclers are an abandoned guild, so Marn promotes the formalization of the work they perform, In order to improve their working conditions, reduce the risks they face in their work and turn them into a formal sector that is part of this value chain.
“The separation of recyclable waste is a business opportunity that favors recycling companies, so it involves the contribution of grassroots recyclers formally would increase the amount of recyclable material they receive,” says the official.
He adds that, as a ministry, they have received the advice of international experts from countries where this process has been successful, such as Peru, Colombia and Mexico.