Rio Suspends Eco-Boat Service Cleaning Guanabara Bay for Olympics

03/04/2015 - 09h32

With little more than a year to go before the Olympics, the government of Rio de Janeiro has decided to suspend the cleaning process of the reflecting pool in the polluted Guanabara Bay. The site is due to host sailing competitions and a test event is scheduled for August.

Twenty days ago, the State Ministry of the Environment suspended the activities of the "eco-boats" - boats that "sweep" the sea, preferring instead to reconsider the eco-barriers project, which blocks waste thrown into rivers. Service providers also allege that the government did not pay on time.

The measure was announced on Tuesday (3), a week after the visit of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The visit was blemished by the government's announcement that it would not reach its target of treating 80% of the sewage dumped in the bay.

Since the beginning of preparation for the games, the eco-boats and eco-barriers had been considered the principal means of cleaning up the bay and ensuring that the sailing events could go ahead. However, they have recently been criticized by the government.

"The way things have been going, the eco-boats are just for show. Any responsible manager would suspend the cleaning, in order to prevent inefficient use of public funds", said Antônio da Hora, Rio's environment secretary.

Da Hora said that the eco-boats were not hitting their target of collecting 45 tonnes of garbage a month. "Costs were extremely high, and it was not efficient", he said.

However, the ministry's own data suggests that the boats had been hitting their targets since August, when their numbers were increased from three to ten. Over 2014, the boats removed 430 tonnes from the bay's reflecting pool, at the cost of US$1.2 million.

Translated by TOM GATEHOUSE

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