Buenos Aires Environmental Progress

It seems that the Buenos Aires government is making strides on quality of life and environmental issues.  This process has picked up a lot of steam recently.

Cartoneros en Buenos Aires
credit: gonzaaaa

New Recycling and ‘Zero Waste’ Law
In July, the city government announced a new garbage management plan which involves cartoneros (Página 12: es | en). This new plan will install rules for waste management companies, let cartoneros handle all recyclables, and establish a Zero Waste law to reduce the amount of trash that goes to landfills.

Fighting Visual Pollution

credit: alex-s
credit: alex-s

Two weeks ago, the Buenos Aires government announced a plan to fight visual pollution by eliminating 40,000 billboards in the city (La Nacion: es | en).  This new law will divide the city into three zones: residential, commercial and the Republic Square. The amount and type of advertising allowed in each zone will be defined. The law also establishes regulations on lighting of such signs as well as colors. In addition, the law forbids the total covering of the side of a building, certain types of billboards and the installation of advertising on houses and buildings.

New Air and Noise Control Devices

credit: La Nacion
credit: La Nacion

Last week, they announced a new initiative to monitor air and noise quality in the city (La Nacion: es | en). This included an initial installation of 42 new Intelligent Monitoring Towers which monitor the concentration of carbon monoxide, ozone, benzene and moisture among other environmental factors.  These will be calibrated and then moved to various parts of the city by the end of the year, providing the government with a complete map of noise and air quality in the city.  This could lead to the modification of some city bus routes.

You can visit Treehugger to read more about these stories:
New Garbage Management Plans for Buenos Aires to Involve Cartoneros
Buenos Aires to Remove 40 Thousand Billboards to Fight Visual Pollution
New Air and Noise Control Devices Promise Better Life-Quality in Buenos Aires