Hanover's illegal dumps worry NSWMA

Claudia Gardner, Assignment Coordinator

WESTERN BUREAU:The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) has called on the Hanover Parish Council to assist it in preventing the manifestation of illegal mini-dumps in the parish.

The minutes of the last regular monthly meeting of the council, held in February, show that Sharnon Williams, communications officer at the NSWMA, said mini-dumps had sprung up in areas such as Hopewell Gully, Bamboo Drive, and Seaview Drive in the towns of Hopewell, Riley Road, Elgin Town, Johnson Town, Prosper, Haughton Gardens, and Church Street in Lucea, Hanover's capital.

"We need to review these areas to ensure that our citizens are aware that their action is illegal and cannot be accommodated. The parish council needs to assist us in this regard," the officer said in her report.

Scheduled collections

But councillor Devon Brown of the Hopewell Division, said the solid waste management problem was a result of garbage trucks not making collections on the scheduled days. As a consequence, he said, animals rummaged through the garbage, scattering it within the communities. He said the NSWMA should advise the residents when the trucks would be unavailable.

Deputy Mayor and Councillor of the Sandy Bay Division, Lloyd Hill, supported Brown. He added that there was a need for sweepers as two street sweepers from Jericho in the division had retired.

This is not the first time concerns have surfaced about illegal dumping and poor garbage collection in the parish. Last month, residents complained in interviews with Western Focus that they were displeased with the improper storage and disposal of garbage by commercial entities in Lucea.

Blamed the local authorities

One farmer, Donald Campbell, blamed the local authorities for allowing the illegal dumping in the town to continue.

"The whole Lucea area is a garbage dump. You have rats running left, right and centre ... . Behind the market is a national disgrace, in terms of dumping and the smell," Campbell said. "And the parish council does nothing. I don't know what they are doing, really and truly, when it comes on to the garbage."

Vice-chairman of the Hanover Parish Development Committee, Leonard Sharpe, had also complained about the poor sanitation in the capital town, and also blamed the parish council for the solid waste management woes.

"They are not doing a good job. The town of Lucea wants a general cleaning. And me notice parish council only talk tings, dem no carry out the actions. The garbage pile-up on Millers Drive, and the domestic garbage and the commercial garbage throw down at one place, and goats and dogs have it in the road. It makes the town look like a ghetto area," Sharpe said."