MoBay mayor wants garbage containers at North Gully

WESTERN BUREAU:

In a clear pitch for the environment, Montego Bay’s mayor, Leeroy Williams, is proposing that garbage receptacles be placed in the vicinity of the city’s North Gully as a way of preventing the illicit dumping of garbage in that area.

While addressing Thursday’s monthly meeting of the St James Municipal Corporation (StJMC), Williams raised concerns about the perpetual build-up of solid waste in Montego Bay’s North and South gullies.

“I think one of the problems we are having with the North Gully is that people are consistently throwing garbage in it, especially at the bus stop that is close by where persons gather to get their transportation. They are just throwing stuff inside that gully, and we need to have the area cleaned,” Williams told the meeting.

“I am going to suggest that we place some small receptacles there at the North Gully so they can put whatever garbage they have in those small receptacles, and then we can see if we can have the area cleaned. One of my priorities is to keep the city of Montego Bay clean,” explained Williams.

Williams was responding to a report from Saed Campbell, the StJMC’s deputy superintendent of roads and works, who had earlier spoken about plans to clean both gullies amid concerns that solid waste build-up could cause flooding in the western city.

“As it relates to monitoring of North Gully, we are going to engage some mechanical equipment to do a deep cleaning. For the South Gully, that area is about 30 per cent filled [with waste] now, and we normally wait until it is at about 60 per cent before we get there for cleaning,” Campbell told the meeting in his presentation.

Last June, the National Works Agency (NWA) spent J$24 million on drainage improvement work in the North Gully as part of efforts to prepare St James for the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season.

Over the years, improper garbage disposal, poor infrastructure, and recurring drainage issues have led to multiple instances of flooding in and around Montego Bay. However, in February of this year, the NWA expressed hope that its mitigation works will help to contain potentially high volumes of water.

Going forward, Williams said plans will be put in place to wash several of Montego Bay’s streets once a month, as part of efforts to keep the city clean.

“We need to wash at least the main street, St James Street, and I am looking at the possibility of having the street washed once per month. There are some other streets such as Church Street, Market Street, and Church Lane, that I think need some washing. These are the areas that we mostly have our vendors operating, so we need to make sure the space is kept clean,” said Williams.