WESTERN BUREAU:

The St James Municipal Corporation (StJMC) is calling for persons who are caught illegally dumping garbage in community spaces to be severely prosecuted, saying the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) is facing major challenges in adequately clearing miniature dumping sites.

Councillor Dwight Crawford of the Spring Garden division, in responding to reports that residential areas and community playing fields are being used as dumping sites during the recent StJMC monthly meeting, Crawford said serious action must be taken against those involved in the practice.

“I am supporting the call that we need to bring the perpetrators to justice because it is a little unfortunate that the NSWMA is being blamed for nasty people’s poor habits,” said Crawford. “The problem starts where persons are using residential communities as their dump sites and playing fields in communities are now becoming mini dumps. We need to nail them to the cross.”

Montego Bay Mayor Leeroy Williams said he, too, supports the need for urgent action as in his view, only strong measures will force the perpetrators into compliance.

“I will agree with you that persons need to take responsibility, and if it means that we should press ahead and prosecute them, we will just have to go there,” said Williams, in response to Crawford’s pronouncement.

Crawford also told the meeting that business operators in St James are a part of the problem as they, too, are involved in the illicit dumping of their waste.

“Commercial waste from all these business places, plus drywall remains, broken concrete, and all kinds of things are being dumped in places, and we now need to go and clean up behind them. It is a little unfortunate, and I think that through the Jamaica Constabulary Force, the NSWMA, and our team who can gather information, we should start to blow this thing up and make it known that when you dump in the wrong place, you will be crucified for it,” said Crawford.

St James has had a long-standing issue with the management of garbage disposal, which has manifested in recurring rodent and mosquito infestation. This is despite the various fines which can be imposed on offenders, ranging from $2,000 for littering in any public space, to $5,000 for littering on any premises owned by another person without the owner’s permission.

In January 2020, Homer Davis, the then mayor of Montego Bay, urged motorists to carry bags to store their waste for disposal in proper garbage receptacles, instead of throwing garbage from their vehicles on to the roadway. The Tourism Enhancement Fund had previously tried to breathe life into that idea in 2011, with 5,000 litter bags being distributed to ground transport operators in the tourism sector and taxi operators in Montego Bay as part of a local anti-litter campaign.

More recently, concerns were raised in October that the improper disposal of grease and food oil into drains by restaurants in Montego Bay may have contributed to sewage overflows in the downtown district. Improper waste disposal by food handlers has often been pinpointed as a major cause of the parish’s rodent infestation.

During November’s monthly meeting of the StJMC, the St James Health Department recommended a partnership between recycling companies, restaurants, and cookshops to reduce instances of improper grease disposal.