Photos Courtesy of EMAC

Have you ever wondered how the beautiful city of Cuenca stays so clean? How does almost all traces of all the trash and litter from big events, like New Year’s Eve, for instance, disappear? You can thank the “Ants,” for this. No, not the little black or red tiny critters that invade our picnics or show up in our kitchens. I’m talking about those people dressed in green that you see pushing trashcans on wheels, sweeping the streets or raking up leaves in the parks or gathering our garbage.

The workers are called hormiguitas shua (shua means “cleaning” in Quechua, so it translates to Little Cleaning Ants). It is a symbol that they believe strongly in. The workers are proud of this title because it describes them perfectly, hard-working, organized and punctual.

These wonderful people are members of the EMAC (Empresa Municipal de Aseo or Municipal Cleaning Company) and are made up of over 700 people. EMAC is an autonomous public company that does not rely on resources from the municipality. It is a government department, like ETAPA. It receives its funding from the citizens of Cuenca. For example, on the electricity bill (Centro Sur) is the charge for garbage collection which is 20% of the total bill.

EMAC is celebrating its 25th Anniversary and, in addition to keeping Cuenca clean, for the past 15 years it has also been in charge of 235 parks and 420 hectares of green areas, which is constantly growing. They have two main areas of concern: waste collection, which includes household, industrial and hospital and maintenance of benches, courts and gardens. They are also responsible for the maintenance of the trees and plants in and around Cuenca.

EMAC

The workers have a definite work schedule, so it’s not the same people working 24-hours, and are divided into three shifts with regular hours beginning at 6 a.m. If there is an event, such as a festival or parade that goes until say 1 a.m., then the first shift would commence at half past four in the morning. For other special dates, like in November, when there is an increase in tourists, they will have additional shifts in the early morning as well as during the days.

Some of the workers have been with EMAC for 25 years. Contrary to popular belief, EMAC is not a program geared towards low-income people. The laborers and workers must meet a profile that has been established by EMAC, such as passing interviews and tests or have necessary professional licenses. They earn eight hundred dollars a month and have free medical, dental and psychological consultation benefits. They decide, along with some regulations of the law, when they wish to retire. Promotions and moving into other areas are done internally and external hiring only happens when there are no qualified persons to fill the vacancy.

I, for one, tip my hat to these industrious, hard-working individuals who proudly keep Cuenca clean and each time I see them, I hear “the Ants go marching one by one, hurrah! Hurrah!”