Mandela dumpsite to close permanently this month-end

Jul 03, 2010 News

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The city’s dumpsite, past its capacity and a health hazard for years now, is to be permanently closed from July 31, Georgetown’s Deputy Mayor Robert Williams said yesterday.
But it is unclear whether a multi-million alternative landfill under construction at Haag Bosch, East Bank Demerara, will be ready on time.
Yesterday, a senior engineer in charge of the project said he was not authorised to speak and officials of the Ministry of Local Government were unavailable for comment.
According to the Deputy Mayor, the dumpsite is beyond capacity and based on decisions taken by the Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown, the Le Repentir dumpsite will, from this monthend, no longer be taking garbage.
As a matter of fact, the M&CC stands ready to prosecute anyone, including garbage collection companies which attempt to dump their refuse after this time.
“They can be taken to court if they continue to use it. We will have ongoing works after July 31, but no more garbage.”
Work will be done on the landfill to cover it with dirt and maybe convert it into a golf course, the Deputy Mayor disclosed.
Contractors will have to start using the new Haag Bosch facility, he warned.
Back in February 2007, a loan agreement to the tune of US$18M was signed between government and the IDB for the Haag Bosch project.
An estimated 300 tonnes of garbage from Georgetown and its environs is dumped daily at the Mandela site with numerous fires reported for years. It is not an unusual thing for part of the city to be enveloped in thick, foul smoke due to fire from the overflowing piles there.
It was unclear what would happen after July 31 if the Haag Bosch project is not ready.
Meanwhile, M&CC in a statement said that it is continuing to make every effort to return garbage collection service to a state of normalcy.
“However, the municipality has not been able to garner the required sums that would allow the garbage contractors to resume collection in different wards. Council is aware that this negative situation is posing a serious inconvenience and discomfort to many citizens. It is doing the best it can in very daunting circumstances. The reality is without money the council cannot provide services to the city.”
The council said it is woefully short on money, equipment and personnel, to provide even the core services to citizens.
“The average household, in a local community in the city, pays between $1000 and $9000 per year for garbage collection and disposal while general rates applied to a typical house in Georgetown is about $3000 per year, also, the council is forced to expend $1 million to pick up parapet waste. Last year, council expended $255 million to remove and dispose waste.”
According to M&CC, when one adds to that, the fact that the council provides a plethora of other services, including roads, drainage, street lights, law enforcement, public health services, vector control, maternal and child welfare and municipal markets, and the fact that there has been no increase in general rates since 1997, “one gets a clearer picture of the challenges confronting the municipality.”
The Council stressed that it still is owed millions of dollars from businesses.
“The Council has initiated legal proceedings against quite a few of them. It has already got judgment against two big companies. But many more need to come forward and settle their accounts at City Hall.”
At the moment, the City Engineer and the Solid Waste Management have teamed up to mobilise available resources, to provide collection service to certain areas in the city, particularly, in the central commercial areas of the city and the markets, the abattoir and the hospital.
“In addition, the council provided collection to a few areas including Alberttown, parts of Albouystown and Charlestown. The team has slated a number of other sections for collection service within the next few days. As a result, the council is asking citizens to assist wherever they can.”
M&CC has some advice for citizens who want to help the situation.
“One way by which citizens can help is by desisting from dumping refuse on parapets and other open spaces. The truth is dumping garbage on the roadside and parapets could not help the health of the environment nor the community. People who engage in this practice are merely shifting the problem “down the road.”
The Council said that its Solid Waste Management Department has reported that there are over 200 mini-dumpsites through the city.
“This is unacceptable, even in the current situation. These sites existed even when our collection was on schedule. This practice contributes to the proliferation of mosquitoes, flies, rodents and other vectors, which carry certain diseases.
“Another way citizens can help is by not burning the refuse. The close proximity of houses as well as the emissions of such fires makes it an unsafe approach to disposal of garbage.”
However, citizens can bury their garbage, M&CC said.  “This has two values- it raises the level of low areas in yards, and enriches the soil. This has great utility for gardening and other such activities. The Council is grateful to those corporations and businesses, which have been assisting to collect refuse from different sections.”

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