The Expat Files

The Business of Garbage- some awfully dirty subjects like sewage and waste disposal: - When in LA, the world is your trash can. The dirty little secrets of sewage disposal in Latin America, and why every lake, river and ravine is a sewer so 19th century diseases like cholera still persist. - The idiocy of 1st World “feel good” donations to Latin governments, and why bad oversight lets corrupt local bureaucrats take the money and run (but not before nice “feel good” embassy photo-op sessions and pretentious check presentation ceremonies). - The care and feeding of your septic tank (and why Latins just feed theirs until they burst). - What to do when your home builder starts cutting corners and improvising. Don’t let him or you’ll be sorry. - Garbage dumps everywhere (both legal and illegal, mostly illegal), and the subculture of families that live in them (oh yes they do, and it ain’t pretty).