J’cans constantly burnt by Gov’t’s dumped Riverton promises, says JET boss
Published:Thursday | April 11, 2024 | 12:09 AMAndre Williams/Staff Reporter
Executive Director of the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) Dr Theresa Rodriguez-Moodie is accusing the authorities of paying lip service to important environmental issues such as repeated fires at the Riverton landfill, the nuisance they create in daily life and the danger in which they place people’s health.
Rodriguez-Moodie was speaking yesterday during the Advocates Network’s civil society post-Budget governance press conference at the Spanish Court Hotel in St Andrew when questions raised, around the consultation that has taken place in relation to the relocation of the dump site, were put to JET.
“There have been some studies, several studies, because the waste-disposal site has reached its capacity, and the studies were to identify alternative sources and to explore the issues of waste incineration, and there were some consultations last year,” Rodriguez-Moodie said.
She said she and her organisation keep hearing different versions of the promises and do not see the actions.
Rodriguez-Moodie said, “With respect to the fires, I know that we could compile the list of promises. After the last major fire in 2018, we were promised that this will never happen again, and it still happens. I think that somebody made the point about [how] we don’t typically recognise that everything that we do, in life, your business, depends on a healthy environment, the air we breath, the water we drink, and we take these resources for granted and we don’t protect them, and we could go on and on ... .”
Dr Rodriguez-Moodie said she was not quite sure where the consultation process was and contended that environmental information should be accessible.
“For example, air-quality regulations ... and the fact that if you want to get information about this fire you are going to have to do an ATI (access to information) request. You may not get it on time, if you get it. And so these are things that when we talk about proactive, and dissemination of environmental information, things that impact our daily lives should be proactively issued so that the public can get it without having to go through this rigmarole process,” Rodriguez-Moodie said.
The opposition People’s National Party (PNP) has called for comprehensive solutions in Kingston’s waste-management future.
Natalie Neita Garvey, shadow minister for local government, said that although she was grateful for the quick action by the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) employees to contain the fire at the Riverton City landfill, more must be done urgently to limit the possibility of fires caused by spontaneous combustion at the dump.
HEALTH ISSUES FOR RESIDENTS
In a statement yesterday, Neita Garvey said the capital city’s residents could not continue to absorb such levels of smoke inhalation on an annual basis as they have major health and business implications. She said Kingston and St Andrew, as well as Portmore, had serious air-quality issues yesterday, which particularly affected citizens with respiratory illnesses.
Neita Garvey said that in the past, the NSWMA had given many assurances of improved practices in its effort to convert the dump site into a sanitary landfill.
She noted that in the meantime, the city is traumatised annually by the fires and smoke.
Neita Garvey urged Minister of Local Government Desmond McKenzie to ensure that the agency is provided with the necessary financial and technical resources to maintain the dump at a level where fires would not suddenly begin there.
“This includes a more serious public-education effort to encourage garbage separation at source and continuous covering of material taken to the site daily,” the shadow minister emphasised.
Neita Garvey also asked the minister to provide an update on plans announced by Prime Minister Andrew Holness some time ago to move the city dump to a new site, which would provide better conditions for waste disposal.
“Sufficient time has elapsed for the Government to give a status report on this important subject,” Neita Garvey said.
Yesterday, the Ministry of Health and Wellness advised residents of Kingston, St Andrew, and St Catherine to limit outdoor activities, wear face masks, and take other precautions against smoke inhalation.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie said persons with respiratory illnesses such as asthma and other vulnerable groups, including pregnant women, were urged to be particularly careful.
She said closing windows and doors was recommended until the air quality improved.
Caregivers were also advised to look out for signs of distress among infants, children, and the elderly. These signs include difficulty breathing and irritation to the eyes, nose, and throat.
Persons with lung, heart, or other cardiovascular conditions should ensure that an ample supply of medication is on hand and continue with these as prescribed.
The ministry said members of the public must seek medical attention if experiencing shortness of breath, excessive coughing, wheezing, or tightness in the chest.
“Healthcare facilities should be prepared for increased numbers over the next few days as persons who are now exposed may run into problems later,” the chief medical officer added.
Late Wednesday, Audley Gordon, executive director of the NSWMA, said the smoke was much [less problematic] than it appeared in some of the communities.
Stewart Beckford, commissioner of the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB), said the smoke nuisance that was experienced yesterday would soon be significantly reduced.
“If the weather conditions is accommodating, if its friendly to us, in terms of the wind, then I am hoping that tomorrow afternoon ,we would be fully extinguished,” Beckford said, speaking on RJR’s Beyond The Headlines yesterday.
The fire at the landfill reportedly began some time after noon on Tuesday.