Quintana Roo landfills face fines up to 3 million pesos

Chetumal, Quintana Roo — The Office of the Attorney General for Environmental Protection (PPA) in Quintana Roo is maintaining supervision of municipal landfills to ensure compliance with environmental regulations, address issues such as leachate contamination, improve final waste disposal in municipalities, and sanction those operating inadequately.

In this regard, the head of the PPA, Alonso Fernández Lemmen Meyer, stated that following the verifications carried out, they have found some irregularities in the operation of final disposal sites in both Tulum and Othón P. Blanco. Therefore, they maintain open procedures before this agency, and the sites must adhere to the recommendations and corrective actions that have been observed. Otherwise, they will face fines.

“Some are fine and others not so fine,” said Fernández Lemmen Meyer. “The one in Chetumal has an administrative procedure, the one in Cafetal as well, as does the old one in Tulum, which still has a procedure. So, some of these could result in a sanction whose amount could reach 2 or 3 million pesos, which is the maximum we have in the fee schedule for the case of Othón P. Blanco, and about 1.3 million pesos for the one in Tulum. But in all cases, they must resolve the conditions expressed in the corresponding resolution.”

He detailed that since last year, they have been conducting visits to these spaces enabled for the final destination of garbage in the 11 municipalities. They found that the vast majority lack adequate equipment, as well as a lack of application of recycling measures to avoid waste saturation due to population growth. This has caused some to exhaust their useful life sooner than expected.

On the contrary, he said, the situation in Playa del Carmen is different, as it is one that has good waste management, and in Benito Juárez, unlike past administrations where there were even closures, it is now operating in compliance with current regulations on the matter.

“The one in Playa del Carmen is in better condition than those in other municipalities,” Fernández Lemmen Meyer noted. “The one in Benito Juárez is much better managed than the one under the previous concessionaire, and that is positive. But the verifications will continue; they are permanent.”

The Attorney General for Environmental Protection was clear in stating that the only goal is to prevent greater pollution and ensure that everyone complies with current regulations regarding environmental protection.