The Rampa People's Council, located in the Plaza de la Revolución municipality of Havana, kicked off this Sunday its pilot test of "El Rampeño," a local development project that uses electric tricycles for door-to-door solid waste collection, with differentiated rates: 100 pesos per month for households and starting from 15,000 pesos for private businesses, MiPymes, and state entities.
The initiative comes after years of citizen complaints about the garbage collection collapse, a problem that is not limited to the Rampa popular council but affects all of Havana: in February 2026, only 44 out of the 106 garbage trucks in the capital were operational, 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.
Pedro Lizardo, president of the Rampa People's Council, explained that the service operates in two fixed shifts: "Two departures, one at 7 in the morning and another at 8 in the evening. What we have asked for is punctuality in disposing of your waste."
According to Lizardo, the results of the first day were encouraging: "The tricycle collects waste from an entire district in 40 minutes. It has been an exercise that has allowed us to make some adjustments, but initially, it has worked very well."
Regarding the rates, the official specified that "differentiated rates will be applied, including for the population, which will be charged 100 pesos per month per household," with exemptions for individuals in situations of economic vulnerability.
For the non-residential sector, project worker Lilian Pérez detailed that "payments start at 15,000 pesos per month, and go upwards, never downwards," covering MiPymes, private businesses, and state-owned companies.
In this first phase, there are five drivers and five assistants, although the project plans to include up to 30 electric tricycles in total and will generate new direct jobs.
The energy infrastructure of the project relies on a "solinera" —a solar charging station with photovoltaic panels— located at the intersection of 23rd and J streets in Vedado, which autonomously charges the tricycles without depending on the National Electroenergetic System.
The garbage crisis in Havana has direct health consequences: Cuba closed 2025 with over 81,000 official cases of dengue and chikungunya, and in June 2026, there were more than 2,800 active cases reported in 134 municipalities across the country.
The regime's responses have been insufficient. The "Operation Cleanup" of October and November 2025 collected 396,157 cubic meters in 20 days, but the garbage accumulated again within weeks.
The Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz admitted in December 2025 the institutional failure to resolve the issue. In response to inaction, residents of the Casino Deportivo neighborhood organized their own collection in May 2026, while others opted to burn the accumulated waste.
The residents of Havana approached the project with caution. Sarah, a neighbor from La Rampa, summed up the general sentiment: "What matters is that it works, that it lasts, because that would be the best, because the streets are really terrible here. We start off strong, and then after three days...".
If the pilot test proves successful, "El Rampeño" is set to be replicated in the other four waste collection zones of Havana.
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