Following a December 16 blessing and douse of holy water bestowed by San Francisco parish curate Enrique Monteón, the Chapala government put a brand new truck on the road to enhance garbage collection in the community.
The new truck is one of 14 identical models that were purchased under the 2014 budget managed by Aipromades, the lakeshore region inter-municipal pro-environment association, to be distributed to each of the member municipalities.
The 2014 model Isuzu runs on a four-cylinder diesel motor, with a four-ton capacity holding bin attached at the rear. Its compact size makes the vehicle ideal for circulating on narrow village streets where larger garbage trucks have trouble navigating.
Aseo Publico director Emigdio Maldonado reports that he is currently operating with a fleet made up of a dozen full size garbage trucks and several pickups. Maintaining efficient refuse pickup is a constant challenge because hardly a week goes by without one or more trucks going into the shop for mechanical breakdowns and other urgent repairs, he observes.
The sanitation chief says he isn’t ready to assign the Isuzu to a specific route. Instead he will employ it as a backup vehicle when and where it is most needed.