Falmouth Market dubbed ‘Little Riverton City’ - Health official unhappy with garbage pile-up

Western Bureau:

Disgusted by the major pile-up of garbage at the new $300-million Falmouth Municipal Market in Trelawny, Delroy Mowatt, the chief public health inspector for the parish, is accusing the Trelawny Municipal Corporation (TMC) and National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) of “working hand in hand to establish a ‘Little Riverton City’ at the facility”.

Mowatt, who was speaking at Thursday’s monthly meeting of the TMC, said that during a recent visit to the facility, he was appalled at the massive pile-up of garbage and the possible health implications it could have for those persons who use the facility, which was opened just over six months ago.

“Based on what I have seen, I believe the Trelawny Municipal Corporation and the National Solid Waste Management Authority are working hand in hand to establish a Little Riverton City at the Falmouth Market,” said Mowatt.

The comments by the health official did not go down well with Falmouth’s mayor, Councillor Colin Gager, who said that, to the best of his knowledge, there should not be a pile-up of garbage at the facility based on the measures in place for garbage collection.

“Garbage is being collected on time and the garbage you are talking about is as a result of Bend Down Market (the weekly Wednesday grand market),” said Gager, in objecting to the characterisation of the situation.

However, Mowatt refused to back off his claim, saying the garbage he was speaking of was an accumulation of waste, which was not new but had been generated over a period of time.

‘OLD GARBAGE’

“The garbage I am talking about is old garbage,” Mowatt told The Gleaner in an interview following the meeting. “I went there at 10:03 a.m. and noticed that very little of the garbage was generated on Wednesday.”

Phillip Service, the councillor for the Martha Brae division, sided with Mowatt when The Gleaner spoke to him to get his take on the situation.

“The NSWMA reported that 40 per cent of the collection of garbage is on a backlog, so I am not surprised about what Mr Mowatt is saying,” said Service. “I cannot accept that all the garbage that is there was freshly generated.”

In further explaining his dissatisfaction with the pile-up of garbage at the market, Mowatt said it carries certain health risks, which the health department is not prepared to live with.

“The non-collection of garbage is a vector for diseases. It provides a breeding ground for mosquitoes and rodents, which eventually exposes the population to diseases,” said Mowatt. “We are therefore demanding that the matter be addressed and that measures are put in place to prevent a recurrence.”