LIMA (AP) — Neighbors in a working-class neighborhood in Lima criticized a company belonging to the country’s richest Peruvian on Thursday for dumping and burning their garbage under a bridge along the Chillón River, one of three that crosses the capital. .
The Cineplanet cinema chain —of the Intercorp group and whose president is Carlos Rodríguez-Pastor— regretted “what happened” in a statement and promised to strengthen “the procedures for the traceability and management” of its garbage.
Cineplanet, whose movie theaters are inside shopping centers, added that it is “committed to caring for the environment.” The company indicated that the “movie theaters carry out their waste management through shopping centers, authorized institutions and/or qualified companies.”
The cinema chain has 46 theater complexes, the majority in Peru, but also in Chile. His owner is Carlos Rodríguez-Pastor, 63, the richest Peruvian along with his two brothers, according to Forbes’ 2023 list. His fortune is 1.5 billion dollars. His two brothers share similar figures and the group invests in the banking, insurance, pharmaceutical, gastronomy, retail and education sectors, among others.
Local television stations showed angry residents of the Los Olivos district of Lima next to mounds of beverage containers and popcorn with the Cineplanet logo, on the banks of the Chillón, a river whose waters are used to irrigate crop fields and for public water service. 10% of the inhabitants of Lima.
For years, the flow of the Chillón River has been contaminated by fecal residues, garbage and also as a result of mining accidents, such as that of the Swiss mining company Glencore, which in 2022 spilled 34 tons of zinc, with lead and iron content, according to data. officers.
