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Two neighbors from Centro Habana have become informal guardians of their block: Lázaro, 58 years old, and César, 63, sit at a corner near Zanja Street to prevent anyone from throwing waste in the spot where one of the largest trash bins in the municipality recently existed.
The story was documented and shared this month by freelance photojournalist Enrique de la Osa, who has extensive experience documenting the reality of Cuba for the agencies EFE and Reuters.
It is the local residents of the neighborhood who personally finance the permanent presence of both men in front of the old makeshift dump.
As part of the community agreement, specific locations on the block have been designated for depositing garbage, and anyone caught throwing waste outside of those areas will face a fine of 50,000 pesos.
Lázaro leaves no doubt about his determination. "Whoever litters in the block, I’ll cut them in two," he told the photographer while trying to light a cigar.
"It's just that it was incredible, my brother; I believe the garbage dump here was the biggest in Cuba," he added.
De la Osa corroborated that description with his own experience: just four days before publishing the story, he had to change his route because the street was completely blocked due to the accumulation of waste.
Additionally, it retains photographs from three months ago showing the road obstructed by dirt at its most critical point.
"Today Lázaro and César are on the lookout, closely watching their neighborhood to ensure that no one litters," wrote De la Osa, adding that "anyone caught in the act will be fined 50,000 pesos."
The corner guarded by Lázaro and César is located exactly one block from a police station, a detail that underscores the paradox: the State is physically present, but it is community self-management that addresses the problem.
This initiative arises in the context of a collapse of garbage collection in Havana that has worsened throughout 2026.
Since February, only 44 of the 106 collection trucks in the capital have been operational due to a lack of diesel and mechanical deterioration, leaving up to 23,814 cubic meters of waste uncollected each day in a city that generates between 24,000 and 30,000 cubic meters daily.
Centro Habana has been one of the hardest-hit municipalities. On June 12, a mountain of trash blocked the intersection of San José and Escobar in that same municipality.
In April, the Zanja and Dragones area was documented as a hotspot of extreme unsanitary conditions, with accumulations that posed a risk to a church for the third time in less than two months.
In March, images captured the elderly, children, and adults gathering onions from dumpsters in the same area.
Due to the state's inability to solve the problem, the residents of Havana have turned to their own solutions in various parts of the city. In May, neighbors from Casino Deportivo organized their own community waste collection.
In November 2025, residents in Old Havana were required to take their trash directly to the collection truck. Now, in Central Havana, two neighbors sit every day to watch over their corner because no one else will.
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