Fires in Holguín's Trash Dumps Turn Neighborhoods into Health Hazards

A video shared on the Facebook page "Holguín en fotos" this Sunday captures a grim scene: an elderly person and a child making their way through a burning trash dump in the Villanueva 3 area, as thick smoke engulfs nearby residential buildings, raising alarm among locals over potential health risks.

The page urgently highlighted that open-air waste burning cannot be a solution to the garbage collection crisis. "This smoke is filled with toxic substances. For those suffering from asthma, allergies, and similar conditions, this is poison. The situation with garbage collection is dire, but this cannot be the answer," they stressed.

Comments on the video reveal the desperation of those dealing with this issue daily.

One resident living near the dump shared her ordeal: "I live nearby and have to go through that area; it’s almost impossible to breathe, and my hair and clothes reek. People in those nearby buildings can't live like this. Even government officials have apartments here, but this neighborhood is unlivable. They burn trash there every single day."

Another local voiced concerns about the long-term impact on respiratory health: "They are destroying the community's lungs. When those garbage containers burn, the smoke is unbearable, spreading ash and black dust that's slowly killing us."

Anger mingles with resignation among the residents. "You're doomed, one way or another—if one thing doesn't get you, something else will. What a nightmare! They don't consider the consequences of burning that trash," wrote another commenter.

Others pointed out the environmental damage, saying, "Burning trash in the open air pollutes the environment with toxic substances harmful to human health, especially so close to a populated residential area," and called for urgent action from authorities.

One voice summarized the root of the issue: "The solution is to avoid creating these dumps in the first place... the indifference has spread... it's terrible, and it’s happening all over Cuba."

The crisis in Villanueva 3 is not an isolated incident. Holguín has faced months of complaints about the breakdown of municipal services, with makeshift dumps overtaking playgrounds, main streets, and sports areas.

This same Sunday, Radio Angulo acknowledged that the accumulation of solid waste "is the result of a series of inefficiencies, where the municipal collection efforts are clearly inadequate, and there is practically no oversight of major waste producers—like small businesses, private contractors, and state-run centers."

In an article titled "Holguín, from One of Cuba's Cleanest Cities to a Dump," the provincial station admitted that "with each passing day, the piles grow, overflow, and invade sidewalks, turning the surroundings into a constant source of contamination."

The source added that "in the absence of systematic solutions, some resort to burning trash. This fills the air with smoke, invisible toxins, and a persistent odor that seeps into homes, clothes, and lungs. This doesn't solve the problem; it just turns it into something even more dangerous."

Back in April 2026, the same outlet reported that trash dumps burned every night across various neighborhoods, consuming plastics, LED tubes, food scraps, decomposing animals, and expired medication containers.

The Municipal Services Company admitted shortages of trucks, spare parts, fuel, and workforce, without offering concrete solutions.

In October and November 2025, Holguín reported dengue cases—serotype four confirmed by polymerase chain reaction tests—and chikungunya in nearly all of its 14 municipalities, with accumulated garbage identified as a factor favoring Aedes aegypti mosquito breeding, adding another health dimension to a crisis that authorities have yet to address effectively.