PINAR DEL RIO, May 22 (Víctor Rolando Arroyo, UPECI - A resident of
Pinar del Río who collected 86 tons of aluminum and 364 tons of paper and
cardboard for the Cuban government's recycling program received a small,
black-and-white TV set and a blender as his reward, and he had to put up a stink
to get that.
The company handling the government's recycling program, which has become
big business in Cuba, originally had announced that it would pay 40 percent of
their value for the materials collected, but it never did. At that rate, for the
aluminum alone the man would have received more than 41 thousand dollars.
The company typically uses students, housewives and others who are exhorted
to collect the materials as a contribution to the economy. They usually receive
certificates, flags and medals in recognition of their efforts. The TV set and
blender, valued at 85 dollars, were officially labeled "incentives."
"The State enterprise makes huge, easy profits processing the materials
collected by the naïve," said one resident who asked to remain
anonymous.
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