Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, July 6, 2026 – Garbage bags left along Francisco Medina Ascencio are drawing new complaints from people who say the city’s trash-collection problems are now visible on one of Puerto Vallarta’s most important corridors.
The latest reports describe bags of waste accumulating on sidewalks, medians, and corners along the avenue, with complaints about odors, pests, and the impression left on people arriving in the city by road or traveling between the airport, Marina Vallarta, the Hotel Zone, and Centro. Residents and tourists had flagged the buildup at several points along the road.
The problem is not only that trash has appeared on a busy street. Medina Ascencio is the route many visitors take before reaching their hotel, condo, or rental. It is also a daily commute corridor for workers, suppliers, taxis, buses, airport traffic, and people moving between the city’s north and south sides. When garbage sits there for hours or days, it becomes harder for City Hall to frame the issue as a neighborhood-level delay.
The complaints also come during a sensitive period for Puerto Vallarta’s waste system. The municipality took garbage collection back into direct public operation on April 1 after the early end of its concession with Red Ambiental, a shift that forced the city to rebuild routes, staffing, equipment, and landfill operations under public control. Local outlets reported at the time that the city was assuming the service directly after the concession was cut short, with operational and budget adjustments expected during the transition.
City officials initially described a daily collection model organized into three shifts: morning, afternoon, and evening. But since the transition, the gap between announced service plans and street-level conditions has repeatedly surfaced in public complaints, especially when collection interruptions leave bags exposed in commercial areas, residential blocks, and high-traffic roads.
PVDN has previously reported on the broader strain in the system, including business concerns that trash delays were hurting the city’s image and the city’s move to add waste-service vehicles as the collection backlog continued. Municipal procurement records also show a 2026 acquisition process for compacting garbage trucks and support vehicles tied to solid-waste collection and ZOFEMAT-funded cleanup needs.
That new equipment may help the city stabilize service, but the Medina Ascencio complaints show the issue is still being measured by what people see at street level. A truck purchase does not solve the problem unless routes are frequent enough, collection points are clear, and residents and businesses know when to place trash outside.
Puerto Vallarta has entered the summer vacation period, with hotel occupancy reported below expectations for the stronger season, making the city’s street conditions more visible to businesses already watching a slower start to July. A corridor lined with trash does not, by itself, stop tourism, but it feeds the same public concern raised by hotels, restaurants, and business groups: basic services are part of the visitor experience and the daily quality of life for people who live here.
The environmental concern is also rational. During the rainy season, loose trash can quickly move from sidewalks and medians into storm drains and canals. Puerto Vallarta has already seen how blocked drainage can worsen flooding, and PVDN has reported crews clearing waste from canals ahead of heavier rains. Trash left along major roads can become a mobility problem and a sanitation complaint when afternoon storms push waste into gutters and low-lying areas.
