Costa Rica News – Rainy season is here. At around 2pm everyday it rains. Many people are left complaining about flooding which slows traffic and makes walking through San Jose a nightmare.
What people don’t realize is that many are adding to the problem.
It’s not just that it rains a lot, but that the rain has nowhere to go. The drainage system is blocked with garbage.
The Ministry of Health estimated that Ticos release 300 tons of garbage per day into vacant lots, rivers, drains and in the street.
Many areas that were cleaned in the summer are once again full of garbage. This cycle repeats year after year because people throw garbage in the streets, despite being warned that this causes flooding risk.
It is not the rain that causes flooding, rather the plastic bags, random shoes, organic waste and broken furniture thrown everywhere, as well as cooking oil dumped down drains, that cause the problem. Five times a year the sewers are cleaned and then refilled with garbage.