M&CC urges businesses to comply with waste disposal rules

Plagued by what was described as an eyesore, Regent Street, Georgetown presented a messy scene, as several business fronts were littered with garbage over the weekend.

Speaking with this this publication, Solid Waste Manager for the Mayor and City Council, Walter Narine, said that strict policing will be taken within one week, as such practices are not tolerable.

He stated that most store owners were responsible for the littering and emphasized that businesses are required to have 12-cubic receptacles. However, he indicated that some leniency will be given, as consultations with business owners are expected to begin on Tuesday.

“Well, the problem is, each business is supposed to have a 12-cubic receptacle, and that’s the problem right there. None of the businesses in central Georgetown has a 12-cubic receptacle. All of them have a makeshift drum or a box, and that is the problem. So, at the end of the business day, they just put everything outside and leave it in the gutters, and that can’t be acceptable. None of them has the proper receptacle. All of them have makeshift ones. You should see it, because they’re so cramped with commodities, they don’t have space for garbage.”

City Council by-laws require businesses to use covered, movable receptacles, which should be metal or metal-lined in some areas. In Georgetown, business premises are generally expected to use bins of a designated capacity (historically around 12 cubic feet, though modern wheelie bin standards are increasingly adopted). Businesses must not dispose of commercial waste in public sidewalk bins or litter bins. It is the responsibility of each business to have a contracted, authorized waste collector or to use approved landfill sites.

“The City Council has to go after this. First, I would prefer them to have consultations, call them in block by block, have meetings with them, reiterate the law, and then give them some amount of time to equip themselves. I think that’s the best approach. But these particular business, people who have been doing this, just imagine, they are huge business people, with household names.”

Remaining firm in the council’s intention to address the issue, Narine said they will do everything in their power to engage businesses.

He noted that while some may assume that improper waste disposal in public spaces is being done by small businesses, it is in fact being carried out by well-known, reputable establishments.

“They have household names, and they can’t have a proper receptacle, that’s what you see out there. But there are other businesses that have taken responsibility by hiring private, farm-based collectors who provide bins for them. All we’re asking is for them to equip themselves with adequate receptacles.
“Basically, even one receptacle is not enough, because you have customers coming in, buying commodities, removing wrappers in the store, and then the businesses have to dispose of it.”

He also called on the Private Sector Commission (PSC) and Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) to engage businesses on the matter.

“They’ve got to do something. They have to get themselves together. The PSC needs to speak to its members, get them to come together, adopt a block, rent a skip bin or something, and take care of the garbage, because it’s overwhelming the system right now with the amount of waste being produced.”
Recently, GCCI and EPA have urged businesses to stop illegal dumping, citing severe environmental risks.

Just last week, Attorney General (AG) and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall directed his focus toward community members, strongly urging citizens to recognise their roles in keeping their communities clean and preventing littering.

This came on the heels of flooding experienced on coastal areas as a result of heavy rainfall, littering and other contributing factors. The AG was among several Cabinet members who were accompanied by Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) and Regional Democratic Council (RDC) councillors and community leaders and visited several flood-affected areas on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD), Georgetown, East Bank Demerara (EBD) and West Coast Demerara (WCD) among other communities.