Uruguay is a real paradise between all the South American country’s. It has many good things but also many bad sides as everywhere else in the world. With this article, I don’t want to compare good and bad. But I like to point out some very poor animals.
Anyway, the positive are the friendly people, the relaxed lifestyle, and the freedom of life that everyone almost can do what he wants to do. Negative is that almost everything exists rules and regulations, speaking of laws, but no one is forcing compliance.

            A truly tourist magnet, the MONTEVIDEO „writing“ in front of the most pictured Montevideo beach „Playa de los Pocitos“. Both, monument and beach are permanently painted and cleaned.    POSITIVE !

You have lots of people which are driving through red lights, speeding 100 through towns where 50 is demanded, and using vehicles without any insurance or even any kind of road safety requirements. Police are standing by or even does the same. I asked once my neighbor, who is a police officer and in charge of the highway part where we live, about this situation. He told me very clearly, „what can we do, most people have no money to confiscate a fine, they just survive on their few pesos“. The result – no one cares.

Capurro beach in Montevideo bay. In the distance the ANCAP refinery, one of the richest Uruguayan company’s.   Here happens nothing, no cleaning at all.   NEGATIVE !

If I made a list the dilemma would go on and on. I don’t like to complain, but I really like to focus your eye on something, and that is the rubbish or trash or garbage or waste handling in Uruguay. I live here for more than 10 years but will never adapt to this kind of trash handling mentality.

There are services, like, at our home, they collect the rubbish 3 times a week, not bad. But still, the people through their waste on the road, in the bush, or just next to containers. The whole country has no waste separation at all, everything goes into the same bag, truck, and finally on to the same deposit. 90 % of the country has its own sewer around the house, needs collection every few months. These dump trucks are called „Barometrica“. I’ll spare me to tell you where they dump the stinking „shit“!

Typical street view in Montevideo. The bin is not even full, but it is easier to throw the waste on the road instead of opening the dumpster and dispose of decently. It’s a culture-mind-mentality problem in Uruguay.
VERY VERY NEGATIVE !

Some city’s try to do something, but the population is not trained and not focussed on motivation and reason to handle waste differently. If you ask why you earn the answer, „we have it always done like this“! Follow my collection of pictures in this article and you will learn what I mean with The Downside of Paradise.

One will see the same image everywhere in Montevideo, the massive weight, hanging at the far back of the trash carts, lifts the horse almost up. It can only pull now with its stomach, not with the collar around the shoulder as it used to be. Horrible treat of the animals here in Uruguay. I wish I could hang such a weight around the neck of the horse owners.

One of the worst situations in Uruguay is the trash collectors in Montevideo with their horse-drawn trash-wagons. They don’t collect all waste, just the recycling stuff to make some money, which is understandable. I like to comment on some pictures and leave the rest to your own opinion.

Notice how poor this horse is standing there and how heavy it is loaded, especially on the head, giving up every hope for a decent life. There is no reason to treat an animal like this, I wish I could treat this arrogant looking guy equal !!

Because the horses suffer a lot in the street, they mistreat them, they carry them with many kilos of weight, they work many hours in the street, they do not protect them from the cold, nor from the heat, and they do not protect them from the rain.

Horses are continually beaten by their owners in order to make them walk, so that they surrender more than their tired bodies can render. They do not feed them properly or let them rest long enough. This torture is repeated every day of their lives, and nobody does anything for them. Similar story with dogs in this country.  No one cares.

This is a work break for the horse. Left under the weight of all the leather equipment, no room to move, no water, no green grass, no attention at all. The here seen guy has just to watch that no one is steeling wagon or horse, while the owner is on break in a beer bar.

I wish I did not see them anymore on the street. I would like to see them grazing in the field, with other horses, happy with the life they have. I would like to ban all kinds of blood traction throughout the country, we are more sensitive to the suffering of animals.

To the honor, rescue is to be said, that some efforts take place to solve the waste problem. But it is not because of the organization or the lack of money or other means – in Uruguay, as in many other Latin American countries, people just throw their garbage into the area.

Above: Photographed in my own neighborhood. People throw their garbage through a back door (see the upper picture with white plastic covered) simply on a neighborly lot. Though, as I mentioned before, we have 3 times a week a rubbish truck service – and they take everything. I only can call such people „Cerdos Humanos“ – „Human Pigs“ !!!

Another story. In our neighboring city Atlantida they tried to collect recycling material and set up special containers for it. Notice above and below how they were used. The already named Cerdos Humanos disposed their „shit“ around everywhere. Above is also to notice, that most of the cartons lying around came from a Tofu-eatery across the road.

No one cares about – the Intendencia (mayors office) just took the bins away and that’s it. Good meaning, goodwill, good ideas – end up in bad results because of the stupidity of the Uruguayan culture „we have always done it like that“ !!

The normal Uruguayan waste disposal is functioning. One hangs out their rubbish in bags (see above) and the garbage truck ladies collect it. It works if all people would do it. The results are nice clean roads and a healthy environment.  Compare the left picture below (here someone took care, that’s the system, it’s o.k.) against the right picture below (and here people don’t care, they just throw it on the road, though bins are empty).

C E R D O S   H U M A N O S  !!!     H U M A N   P I G S  !!!    F I N E   T H E M  !!!

Beautiful Montevideo Bay – just in front of rich ANCAP refinery !  What an  S H A M E !