Cabo San Lucas municipal delegate Karina de la O Uribe led a multi-agency highway cleanup on April 8, deploying eight teams across roughly 10 kilometers of the road toward Todos Santos. The operation stretched from Hotel Diamante to the Migriño landfill, a corridor well known to drivers heading northwest from Cabo.
Crews from the Los Cabos municipal government (XV Ayuntamiento), the Mexican Navy (Secretaría de Marina), National Guard, fire department, and private sector volunteers collected accumulated waste along the roadside. Officials also surveyed the types of debris found to better understand what is being dumped and where.
Construction Waste a Growing Problem
De la O Uribe flagged illegal construction waste dumping as a specific concern. Materials discarded in ravines near the highway can wash into the Pacific Ocean during the rainy season, which typically runs from August through October in the Los Cabos area. The highway toward Todos Santos crosses several arroyos that channel stormwater directly to the coast.
The problem is not new. In March 2025, a similar cleanup along the Todos Santos to Pescadero corridor in La Paz municipality collected more than 51 tons of waste, including plastics, tires, textiles, and glass. That effort drew over 500 volunteers. Roadside dumping has been a persistent issue across southern Baja California Sur as construction booms in both Los Cabos and the Todos Santos area.
More Work Ahead
Officials said the cleanup may continue next week if crews cannot finish the full stretch between Hotel Diamante and the Cabo San Lucas landfill access road. The 10-kilometer section tackled on Tuesday represents only part of the total corridor needing attention.
For drivers, the highway from Cabo San Lucas to Todos Santos is a popular route connecting the tourist zone to the quieter Pacific coast community about 80 kilometers to the northwest. The road climbs into desert hills dotted with cardón cacti before descending into the Todos Santos agricultural valley.
The cleanup was first reported by the Los Cabos municipal government on its official website, loscabos.gob.mx.