Cancún Ecology Department Receives Up to 10 Pollution Complaints a Day

Cancún, Quintana Roo — The city’s Municipal Ecology Department receives between five and 10 pollution complaints a day about properties and businesses in Cancún, according to department director Fernando Haro Salinas.

Haro Salinas said the citizen complaints have been key in helping the department impose sanctions on establishments operating without proper authorization. He highlighted the recent shutdown of a property in the El Milagro neighborhood, where inspectors found containers of used vegetable oil, apparently collected from restaurants and shops.

A thorough inspection showed the site was operating as a collection center without the required permits to store special-handling waste, he said. “Because it did not have the corresponding storage permit, the property was shut down and an administrative procedure was opened,” Haro Salinas said, adding that the case was also reported to the state environmental protection agency (PPA).

The department has also detected businesses with problems managing solid waste, the official said. These types of violations can lead to closure and fines exceeding 10,000 Mexican pesos, depending on the severity of the environmental damage.

Haro Salinas said Cancún’s rapid growth has made it harder to identify all contamination risk areas, and he urged residents to report any environmental violations they witness.