This is a post I never finished from back when I was living in Parque Lafevre in Panama City.

So one thing you have to learn is DON’T buy a large garbage can like you have back home. Not unless you have a large family.

I learned at the last room I rented that the garbage has to be taken out very regularly if you don’t have your air conditioner running 24/7. The heat & humidity just ferments the garbage.

I barely had anything in my garbage, yet I woke up & my entire apartment smelled like bad food. I had to literally rush to take the garbage out for fear of fainting.

Yes it was hot in the apartment except in my bedroom.

I don’t leave the windows open like I want to for a few reasons like dogs barking constantly & noises out in the street.

So be prepared to take the garbage out at least once every 1-2 days. If you have a very large family with lots of animals, that’s another story.

Also just so you know, the garbage pickup in Panama City & I’m sure in other areas in the Interior is terrible compared to what we are used to.

Here’s the lowdown on garbage in Panama.

1. People just throw their garbage into these metal wired bins. Some bins are closed low to the ground next to the apartment building, others are out near the street on a metal pole & aren’t enclosed at all. Most houses have those types.
2. Because people throw their garbage in these HUGE bins, lots of the garbage falls out from the bags.
3. Some people throw their garbage outside the metal box.
4. When they come to collect the garbage, I have NO idea how they get the garbage out of there, as it’s a very small confined space. So I guess that’s why it’s never fully cleaned out & there’s always garbage still in there that is gawd knows how many weeks or months old. I’ve even seen diapers on the sidewalk. GROSS!!!

Garbage is a problem in Panama & when I heard about it before moving here, I thought they just littered.

I wouldn’t call this littering which I consider throwing a piece of paper on the street. I would call this garbage dumping.

Despite all the rain, Panama is not a clean country & if you think it’s just Panama city, think again. I now live in Arraijan & there’s garbage strewn all over the place.

They could easily hire people to clean it up since the cost would be minimal since they don’t pay their workers much at all ($400 per month), but obviously they don’t care enough to train people to STOP garbage dumping & to have the garbage cleaned up & maintained.

A month or two after I got here, I even heard a tourist from Trinidad complain about the filth in Panama city. She said she will never come back here.

And as always, the richer neighborhoods are cleaner than the poorer ones.

Michelle