Little progress was made with the continuing problem of refuse collection in Santo Domingo, as communities on the outskirts of the capital continue to put up strong resistance to any proposal to use their municipalities as temporary dumping sites. Since the temporary closing of the Duquesa dump in the capital, the Santo Domingo city council, the Attwoods Dominicana company and the central government have attempted to find several solutions to the problem, without success. On 30 July it was announced that the Liga Municipal Dominicana (LMD) will assume, with the support of the central government, the RD$10,000,000 monthly payment under the contract with the Attwoods company for refuse collection in the National District. The payment was formerly made through the Secretariate of the Presidency.
As rubbish continues to pile up in areas of the capital, with few dumping options available, the Minister of Public Health, Dr. Victor Garcia Santos, expressed his concern that the presence of the refuse could produce epidemics among the population, particularly young children. Although no cases of disease directly caused by the accumulation of the rubbish has been reported to the Public Health authorities, the fear of an increase in respiratory infections and the proliferation of pests is present.