*TZ´Unun Ya´ Collective has been fighting pollution for more than a decade
*Divers collected more than 1,500 pounds of waste
*Waste reflects the negative externalities of nearby industries
*Entry into force of agreement 164-2021 will require sorting of solid waste
*Divers collected more than 1,500 pounds of waste
*Waste reflects the negative externalities of nearby industries
*Entry into force of agreement 164-2021 will require sorting of solid waste
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NewsTranscript
00:00Guatemala Mayan Collective has denounced the irresponsibility of industries with
00:05solid waste collected from the bottom of Lake Atitlán with the support of more
00:09than 50 divers.
00:13More than 50 internationally renowned divers
00:18changed their mission of rescuing lives to face a new challenge, collecting solid
00:23waste at the bottom of Lake Atitlán in the Department of Solola.
00:27Today we are in this activity because we know that we also have to contribute to
00:31nature so, I repeat, these are people who come today to donate their time.
00:38It's an initiative of the Taz Ananya Collective from San Pedro La Laguna,
00:42Solola, which for more than a decade has fought against contamination, aimed at
00:46healing and rescuing Lake Atitlán.
00:50There is environmental racism here because we, the
00:55indigenous women, the indigenous communities, end up picking up the waste.
00:59We end up depositing this garbage that the big industries have generated.
01:04The leaders' words are
01:09translated into numbers. The divers collected more than 1,500 pounds of waste
01:14washed in by the rains from communities that do not have waste treatment plants.
01:17We found a lot of non-recyclable material,
01:24iron, ferrous and many tires, so that occupies a large amount of volume in
01:28hard plastic, pipes, elbows.
01:35The sorting of this waste reflects the negative externalities of
01:40industries that do not calculate the harmful impacts of their products and
01:43packaging, suggests one of the villagers.
01:48Everyone calculates their profits, calculates their labor, calculates their raw materials.
01:53Everything is calculated, but what they don't calculate is their solid waste.
01:58On February 11th, 2025,
02:04governmental agreement 164-2021 comes into effect, which requires the
02:10classification of solid waste at the national level, a practice that San Pedro
02:14Laguna implemented since 2016.