Atoyac is located in the Costa Grande of the state of Guerrero, Mexico, about 84 kilometers west of the port of Acapulco, which is the main city of the state. It has an area of 1,638.4 square kilometers. It is bordered to the north by San Miguel Totolapan, Ajuchitlán del Progreso and General Heliodoro Castillo; to the east by Coyuca de Benítez; to the west by Tecpan de Galeana and to the south by Benito Juárez. The population of the municipality of Atoyac de Álvarez is 60,680 inhabitants (29,479 men and 31,201 women), according to the 2020 Census. 

In 2016, the citizens of Atoyac de Álvarez, through the Guerrero Initiative, is first, promoted by several civil society organizations, sought alternatives for environmental problems in the Atoyac River. For intervention of this network of organizations of the Guerrerense society, the National Human Rights Commission began in that year the complaint of eight cases of collective human rights violations in the Costa Grande region, among these the referring to the Atoyac River. In 2019, recommendation 56/2019 regarding urban solid waste and sanitation of the Atoyac River is issued. Within the framework of the human right to a healthy environment, it indicates that only 53% of the population of this area has drainage connected to the public health network, 42% have septic tank, and 3% discharge directly into ravines and streams. It also emphasizes that “surface water currents flowing in the vicinity of urban areas or areas for agricultural use, they record contributions from pollutants, from municipal wastewater discharges, as well as the drag of urban solid waste willing in sites not controlled, of waste of livestock and sediment activities due to land use changes; which constitutes an important environmental risk for human health and for ripal ecosystems ”(CNDH, 17: 2019). Other technical elements indicated in the recommendation are the mismanagement of hydrological basin, poor urban solid waste collection service (RSU) (45% of the population), burning of RSU in situ, verified with the study of the Mexican Institute of Water technologies, prepared for this recommendation: "It also gives off the existence of a large amount of urban solid waste and special management, particularly the livestock sector, in the channel of the aforementioned river"

According to data from the 2020 census of the National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Informatics, in the city of Atoyac, located in the lower part of the watershed, 81% of the households have sanitary sewage drains that discharge their wastewater directly into the Atoyac River. In El Paraíso, located in the middle part of the watershed, 77% of the homes have drainage with sanitary service but without a sanitary network, and they throw garbage in places that are not adequate for final disposal, both ending up in the Atoyac River, a situation that is repeated in the riverside communities of the municipality. 

Between the issuance of the recommendation in 2019 and 2023, the authorities have been encouraged to continue following up on the recommendation, and progress has been made in the Citizen Participation Committee, the signing of the inter-institutional agreement; and the constitution of the State Committee for the attention of the Atoyac River, and the signing of the technical assistance for regional urban solid waste management.

• Environmental awareness and citizen participation: To promote awareness and active participation of society in a new culture of MSW management, workshops, training, environmental signs, and training processes, videos with environmental messages, which will influence the generation of a new paradigm of waste culture.
• Intermunicipal MSW operating agency: Promote the creation of an intermunicipal MSW operating agency by participating in the citizen participation committee of an intermunicipal MSW operating agency. 
• Hazardous waste and health risks: Design strategies to reduce health risks to the population due to inadequate management of hazardous waste, based on preventing mismanagement of hazardous waste and health risks.
• Recover-Recycle-Reuse: Implement 3R projects (Recover-Recycle-Reuse) with young people and women involved in training activities, encouraging the skills and knowledge acquired in training activities through the implementation of 6 3R projects.

Direct results:

• 5 training sessions on MSW management.
• 5 work sessions on environmental awareness.
• 5 training sessions on hazardous waste management and public health risks. 
• 20 environmental awareness-raising signs installed in Atoyac.
• 2000 hazardous waste management manuals distributed.
• 5 thematic videos disseminated through various communication channels. 
• 6 3R (Recover-Recycle-Reuse) projects for young people and women.

Expected impact:

• 500 inhabitants, including adults, young people, adolescents, boys and girls from the region are participating in training for the MSW management awareness project 13 and 15 months after the project was implemented.
• 4 municipalities are members of the inter-municipal operating agency for MSW management 12 months after project implementation
• At least 50 participants are still involved in the 6 Recover-Recycle-Reuse projects under development 2 months after project closure.

• Coordinator of Ejido and Communal Commissaries of Guerrero.
• Autonomous University of Guerrero.
• Municipality of Atoyac de Álvarez.
• Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources. 
• Procuraduría de Protección Ambiental de Guerrero (Environmental Protection Attorney's Office of Guerrero).
• Plant Health Committee of Guerrero.

• Arturo García, coordinator of the DESCA Costa Grande Committee, rasarturo@gmail.com 
• Juana Guzmán, councilwoman of the Atoyac city council, member of the environment, human rights and health commission, regiduria.salud.atoyac@gmail.com