Know your basura - garbage collection in Loja

Green can for organic, black for non-biodegradable

Loja is noted as being one of the cleanest cities in Ecuador. I believe one of the contributing factors to that is we have trash pickup six days a week. On three days the focus is biological waste that can be recycled and the other three days are for everything else. To help separate the two types of refuse the city uses two different color trash bins - green for biodegradable and black for regular.

To clarify the difference, the green containers are for organic garbage that rots (bark, shells, kitchen waste, herbs, bones, legumes, tree leaves, etc.) while the black containers are for inorganic substances that do not rot (cans, cardboard, paper, plastics, glass, wire, wood, fabric, leather and more).

Electronic waste, such as computers, TVs, cell phones, etc., are collected on the last Saturday of each month along with bulky items like mattresses or furniture.

A word of caution - if you have broken glass or some other sharp object to dispose of it is requested that it be wrapped in newspaper before placing in a plastic bag or the trash container. This is to protect both you and the recogedor de basura (garbage collector) from possible cuts or contaminants which might lead to an infection.

If you need a can of either color they can be purchased from the city for $18 each. It's a bit of a process so allow a little time. At the municipal building you will need to go to one office to register, to a second one to pay, and then to a third one to pick up the container. The offices are all right there and close together but sometimes there are lines to wait through.

It should be noted that Loja works diligently to keep our city clean and to recycle as much waste as possible. If you wish to see for yourself, tours of the recycling center are available.

Schedule of days by color:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday - green container with bio waste

Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday - black bin with regular household discards

Schedule of hours by day:

The municipality has a schedule that details when collection takes place in the various neighborhoods by street, and according to the hour of the day. It is quite thorough if you want to know approximately when to expect the truck to come by your place. That schedule is located here:  https://www.loja.gob.ec/contenido/horarios-de-recoleccion-de-basura