La Vega’s municipal government is an example to follow nationwide, as its mayor, Fabio Ruiz, announced that the initiation of studies to implement the first garbage classification system in the country, in which different colored containers would be used for different types of garbage. The city government already boasts a new fleet of three garbage collection trucks and one truck to wash the 700 containers that pick up 600 tons of garbage in the city every day. The city government invested 1.7 million euros in the purchase. Ruiz says that the new system will bring savings to the city government as it is more efficient than the 15 dump trucks used previously to collect the trash. He said that each truck is operated by one person, instead of five in the past, and that it only takes two minutes to pick up one container.
Ruiz is known for being one of the most efficient mayors in the Dominican Republic. He has consistently said that what sets him apart is that he uses the available funds for the city, not for political patronage. Ruiz won the mayor seat running on the PRD ticket in 2002.
In addition to the future implementation of the first garbage classification system in the country, Ruiz said they plan to build a landfill for the specific types of garbage.