Hanover trash heap

Western Bureau:

With the recent passage of Hurricane Melissa, higher-than-normal levels of household waste and other debris have been produced across the island, awaiting clearance by the state-run National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA).

Residents of Hanover are, however, concerned that their parish has been receiving slower-than-required service from the waste collection agency.

As recently as yesterday, tons of uncollected waste could be seen strewn across various communities in the parish, begging to be removed to some suitable location. Rats and other small ruminants are having a field day in the uncollected garbage, as some residents express fear that some form of disease might be breaking out soon within the parish.

Checks made by The Gleaner in several communities across the parish have confirmed the concerns of the residents about the volume of uncollected garbage, and the rummaging through the refuse by rodents and other animals.

In Eastern Hanover, councillor for the Hopewell Division in the Hanover Municipal Corporation (HMC), Lennox Fray, expressed his disgust about the issue to The Gleaner, stating that it has been over a month since any NSWMA garbage collection unit has visited some communities within his division.

“Whereas some main town areas are seeing a collection truck possibly once per week, some other areas have not seen any form of collection for over one month now,” Fray stated.

He named areas such as Cacoon Castle, Pondside and River Gully as needing urgent attention regarding garbage collection, adding that persons have resorted to lighting fires in the garbage dumpsters located within those areas.

In the western end of the parish, councillor for the Green Island Division in the HMC, Marvel Sewell, screamed when asked about the situation in his division, stating that garbage collection is almost non-existent there. He added that garbage collection in his division is one of the issues that he will be speaking loudly about at the next HMC monthly meeting, scheduled for January 8.

“The situation in areas like Logwood, Santoy, Green Island and the Lot housing development can be described as wicked,” he exclaimed.

“Every call I get over the last couple weeks, the non-collection of garbage is the issue,” he stated.

He said that when he passes on the complaints to the NSWMA, he is told that they there is a shortage of waste collection trucks.

“I am getting pure ‘story’, which is not helping the situation, as I am sure some form of health problem will soon crop up across the division; from [Hurricane] Melissa pass, the whole place is nasty, it is inhumane,” he argued.

He said it would take at least one week of concentrated garbage collection and removal from the areas in his division for a difference to be made.

Other areas named by Sewell as being in need of urgent attention with regard to garbage removal include Wharf Road, Phoenix Road, Dam Road, Orange Bay Road, and Fish River.

“I born and grow in this division, and the present garbage collection situation is in the worst state I have seen it in my lifetime,” he argued.

He pointed out that in many areas, the residents have to be lighting fires in the garbage dumpsters to get rid of both the garbage and the rodents that have infested them, which, he argued,will have a negative impact on the structural integrity of the dumpsters.

“The dumpsters, with the effect of the fires and the weather conditions, will eventually crumble, so very soon there will be nowhere to store the garbage,” Sewell opined.

He noted that at a particular housing development within the division, persons have stopped packaging and putting out their garbage for collection by the NSWMA, as that has not been done for sometime now. The residents are instead putting their garbage at the side of the main thoroughfare, outside the development. The resulting volume of refuse has now reduced the roadway to one lane, affecting the smooth flow of traffic in that area, the councillor stated.

He also called for special collection days to be set by the NSWMA for old household equipment, or ‘white waste’ as they are called.

When contacted by The Gleaner, NSWMA representative Andrew Walker, who has responsibility for Hanover, said one of the two trucks assigned to western Hanover is non-functioning, which has caused the huge backlog in collection in that area.

“A section of the Orange Bay area was cleared about two weeks ago, but we have the main road along with the housing scheme to be completed in the coming weeks. But we are having serious times with the trucks, and we only have one unit serving the parish now, which is a problem for the western sections,” he stated.

He, too, admitted that he has seen where persons are lighting fires in the dumpsters, adding, “Because of that, the amount that those containers can hold has been reduced, because there is burnt refuse stuck at the bottom of them.”

Walker said he would be writing to his superiors for assistance with regard to securing additional vehicles for the area as, he admitted, one unit cannot efficiently remove the volume of garbage being generated.

He said priority would be given to clearing the backlog at schools and health facilities, and advised residents to be patient and continue to properly package their waste.

editorial@gleanerjm.com