Vacant property turned into garbage dump
Barrett Avenue residents overwhelmed by stink and squalor
Published:Monday | February 14, 2022 | 12:05 AMAndre Williams/ - Gleaner Reporter
A vacant property on Barrett Avenue in Rollington Town, Kingston, has been turned into a garbage dump and is creating a stink for the residents. They claim that people from all over throw garbage, furniture, dead animals, and even use it as toilet.
The unfinished building, with overgrown vegetation on the property, is said to be a resting place for a mentally ill person. it became the unofficial dumping ground after another property further down the road was cleared and taken over.
Residents are calling for the authorities to step in as the owner is nowhere to be found.
“You see this (dump), oh my god, dem bring dead dog, dem bring everything come throw over there. And dem come from all over the place. Dem say the owner can’t be found or deh a foreign or something, but they have to do something with it now. Oh my god. It stay bad,” an elderly woman said.
The woman told The Gleaner that when the stench rises, she often feels as if she will faint.
She says the issue borders on the infringement of public health safety, and she is ashamed to bring visitors to the area.
IT STINK
“Sometimes you come out, you can’t even draw your breath. It stink! You see how it stay, it stay good now. Sometimes all fridge, bed, mattress, settee, everything over deh. They need to do something,” the resident said.
Another resident, who said she has lived in the area for 50 years, pointed out that residents practise poor garbage-disposal practices, and the youngsters are also learning the bad habit.
“The man start build up him house, and mi nuh know if him gone weh or him dead. The place deh deh, a big dump use to down there (down the road). A little man buy it and clean it up; after a while a ya suh dem come (start dump). When you pass the place, you haffi tie down yuh nose,” the woman told The Gleaner.
Other residents reported that the problem will only be fixed when someone purchases the property.
People’s National Party councillor for the Vineyard Town Division, Andrew Swaby, told The Gleaner that the eyesore is a matter of concern.
Swaby said the unofficial dumping location is now a public health hazard and pledged to visit the location on Wednesday.
“People dump illegal things over there. I haven’t seen it for a little while now. My understanding is that it is private property. I think it’s someone abroad [who] owns that property,” Swaby told The Gleaner.
The councillor said he had reported the matter to the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) and the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) prior to the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, dating back two years.
“It’s a long-standing issue, I will admit. I’m going to be frank. The residents also see who dump these things there and I keep saying, why don’t you (the residents) take a picture so that we can take action against those persons,” Swaby said, while urging residents to help in policing the area.