At the open-air, quasi-landfill/refuse dump called Duquesa thousands of persons who find their daily sustenance there, as strange as that may seem. Duquesa is located in North Santo Domingo and is reached over barely passable roads that are used by garbage trucks of all sizes, in rain or shine, from dawn to early dusk.
According to a feature in Listín Diario, thousands of persons on foot and on motorcycles call Duquesa their place of business. These persons are known in Dominican slang as “buzos” or divers, and their livelihood depends on their ability to dive into the refuse dumped there and find items that have some resale value.
These people are scared because President Danilo Medina signed a decree calling for the “technical closure of Duquesa,” the largest dump serving Greater Santo Domingo. The decree is dated 17 January 2020.
The newspaper interviewed several of these divers, a couple of which have been at Duquesa for nearly two decades. “And what is the President going to do with the 5,000 people who work here?” The buzos pick through the millions of items that are delivered each day to the landfill, and remove plastics, metals, wires and glass, all of which can be recycled. Several workers admitted to earning as much as RD$30,000 during a good month and at least some RD$10,000 (equivalent to a minimum wage in the public sector) during lean times.
According to reports, once the landfill is closed, land located adjacent to the dump will be used.
Read more in Spanish:
Listin Diario
22 January 2020