David Vargas
ASUNCIÓN, Aug 1 2007 (IPS) – A thousand inflated transparent plastic bags labelled Pathological Garbage cover the floor of one of the exhibition rooms at the Juan de Salazar Cultural Centre in the Paraguayan capital.
The bags form part of artist William Paats Asepsia (asepsis) exhibit, which is aimed at drawing attention to the serious problem of hospital waste disposal in this South American country.
The exhibit opened in early July, a year after the government s declaration of a health emergency when the two obsolete incinerators that disposed of the waste generated by the city s public hospitals were closed down.
That coincided with the Asunción city government s decision to cancel the contract with the Sudamericana company, which was in char…