Chief Public Health Inspector for Portland, Lorenzo Hume, says a garbage receptacle located on a roadway leading to the Port Antonio Hospital has become a serious health hazard.

Hume, who was addressing the monthly sitting of the Portland Municipal Corporation on Thursday, pointed out that the concrete structure on Nuthall Road is now a breeding ground for mosquitoes, roaches and rats.

“It was ill-advised. It should not have gone there. I raised my own objection in meetings here at the municipality. It was never a good location and the only solution to it is to get it removed... to get it demolished," Hume argued.

He added: “It has caused significant damage to the environment and is also a source of breeding of mosquito and source of rat breeding. It must be demolished and the place restored. You can't place a refuse holding container or structure on the edge of a spring. Our rules say that certain waste management system must be at least a hundred feet away from any water body”.

According to Hume, refuse from the garbage container, which cannot be adequately secured, is washed into a gully and nearby stream on a consistent basis, while the remaining pile-up of garbage is left to be sifted through by dogs.

The location of the garbage receptacle has been a topic of discussion among users of the hospital who have to contend with the unbearable stench in the area.

- Gareth Davis

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