A serious garbage-disposal problem had developed in the town of New Amsterdam in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), and the municipality does not see this changing unless citizens get involved.
During a press conference on Friday, Mayor Wainwright McIntosh said residents have been indiscriminately dumping garbage along the road shoulders. On the other hand, some residents have been complaining that they have not been visited by the Town Council for several weeks in terms of removal of garbage.
This, they say, has resulted in bins overflowing and garbage piling-up. It has also led to the dumping of garbage on the road shoulders.
McIntosh is however contending that it is unfair to the workers in the Health Department when persons dispose of furniture and other items on the road shoulders. At the entrances to many streets in the municipality, one can see heaps of garbage.
“While we are servicing residential waste, it is the policy that every household should have in their possession a garbage receptacle. Additionally, there is the municipal dumpsite, but for some reason, some residents prefer to dispose of their garbage in an illegal way,” McIntosh said.
McIntosh, who took office earlier in the month, has said his policy is to ensure that residents receive the service they deserve. He acknowledged that the municipal Health Department is being challenged, and apart from a shortage of staff, there are only two vehicles engaged in the removal of solid waste in the town.
“We cannot be in every area at the same time, hence there is a schedule; and once every home has a garbage receptacle, we will ensure those receptacles are serviced in a timely manner,” he has said.
Indiscriminate dumping would not be tolerated, Mayor McIntosh has said, while noting that a campaign has commenced to clear the road shoulders of garbage.
“The workers of the Council did not dump the garbage there. They did not put an entire chair along the Council’s parapet or the Government’s reserve, and so I am asking residents to be more responsible, because we will be holding you accountable,” McIntosh has warned.
A campaign against illegal dumping and littering is soon to commence, the mayor has informed.
Labour shortage
Meanwhile, Seline Outar, the Environmental Health Assistant, has said there is a shortage of labour at the department. Outar, the acting head of the department, explained that the Health Department has only two labourers, and they play a critical role in the management of solid waste.
“I must apologise to the citizens of New Amsterdam for our poor collection of solid waste of late. The reason for this is that the department has been struggling to get labours. For the past three to four months, we only had two labourers,” Outar has said.
According to Outar, the Council is accepting applications for labourers to work in the Environmental Department. However, despite the municipality not being able to meet its obligations to residents, Outar says the business community can help by disposing of their solid waste in a proper manner.
Current systems in place include having the municipality remove solid waste from business places as often as required for a fee, and for businesses to take their waste to the landfill site on Esplanade Road. There is a fee attached to accessing the site. Currently, one compacter truck and a tractor and trailer are used to service the entire town’s solid waste disposal needs.
According to Outar, another issue significantly impacting the municipality’s ability to effectively manage the town’s solid waste is the fact that residents do not separate their waste.
“Our citizens do not separate solid waste. We mix everything together, and the compactor truck cannot take certain waste that householders give. For example, if you want to throw away a chair, a barrel, or those sorts of things, we cannot put that into the compactor truck. That is why we have the trailer working with it.”
The municipality is expecting a second compactor truck, which should have arrived a few weeks ago, but has encountered shipping delays. Additionally, inmates from the New Amsterdam Prison will soon be joining the municipal workforce to assist with the removal of solid waste from residential communities.
The mayor has said he is hoping for improved collaboration between the Town Council and residents of the town. “I would like to encourage persons to apply for the position as labourers at the Health Department. Working with just two labourers would have placed a significant challenge on us. I would also like to make a conscious call for us to stop littering or dumping along the road shoulders. It creates an unsightly atmosphere. We want to make out town attractive, not only for residents, but for tourists visiting New Amsterdam. Let us cooperate and work together,” Mayor McIntosh has appealed.
Meanwhile, five persons have each been fined $25,000 for littering. Sergeant Paula Solomon of the Town Constabulary has said the five were first-time offenders, and hence were not given the maximum fine of $100,000. The five included two business persons. The fines were instituted on the five between May and June.
“Before then, no other persons were fined,” Solomon revealed. The fines have been paid to the Town Constabulary.
